E=DECORATION:OF:HOUSES 

BY:  EDITHWHARTON  =  & 
OGDIN  ■■  CODMAN   JR  - 


UNIVERSITY   OF  CALIFORNIA 

ARCHITECTURAL  DEPARTMENT   LIBRARY 


GIFT  or 

"Friends   of  V:illis  Polk" 


ARCHITECTURE  D't^t^i, 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/decorationofhousOOwhariala 


THE  DECORATION  OF  HOUSES 


Copyright,  1897,  by  Chakles  Scribnei's  Sons 

GIFT  OF 

JrieA/J^  of  VV  I  ill's    To  U< 


ARCHITECTURE  DEPT. 


Art 
Ubrarv 


"Une  forme  doit  etre  belle  en  elle-meme  et  on 
ne  doit  jamais  compter  sur  le  decor  applique  pour 
en  sauver  les  imperfections." 

Henri   MayEUX  :    La  Composition  Decoratne. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction xix 

I  The  Historical  Tradition i 

II  Rooms  in  General 17 

III  Walls 31 

IV  Doors 48 

V  Windows 64 

VI  Fireplaces 74 

VII  Ceilings  and  Floors .  89 

VIII  Entrance  and  Vestibule 103 

IX  Hall  and  Stairs 106 

X  The  Drawing-room,  Boudoir,  and  Morning-room  .        .122 

XI  Gala  Rooms:  Ball-room,  Saloon,  Music-room,  Gallery  134 

XII  The  Library,  Smoking-room,  and  "Den".        .        .  145 

XIII  The  Dining-room 155 

XIV  Bedrooms 162 

vii 


viii  Table  of  Contents 

PAQB 

XV  The  School-room  and  Nurseries 173 

XVI  Bric-a-Brac      .....,,,  184 

Conclusion 196 

Index        ....,,,.,  199 


LIST  OF  PLATES 

FACMO  PAOB 

I  Italian  Gothic  Chest i 

II  French  Arm-chairs,  XV  and  XVI  Centuries  .       .         6 

III  French  Armoire,  XVI  Century lo 

IV  French  Sofa  and  Arm-chair,  Louis  XIV  Period     .        \2 
V  Room  in  the  Grand  Trianon,  Versailles    .        .        .14 

VI  French  Arm-chair,  Louis  XV  Period       .        .       .        16 

VII  French  Bergere,  Louis  XVI  Period     .        .        .        .20 
VIII  French  Bergere,  Louis  XVI  Period  ....        24 

IX  French  Sofa,  Louis  XV  Period 28 

X  French  Marquetry  Table,  Louis  XVI  Period  .        .  30 

XI  Drawing-room,  House  in  Berkeley  Square,  London  .  34 

XII  Room  in  the  Villa  Vertemati        ....  38 

XIII  Drawing-room  at  Easton  Neston  Hall    ,       .       .42 

XIV  Doorway,  Ducal  Palace,  Mantua  ....        48 
XV  Sala  DEI  Cavalli,  Palazzo  del  T       ....    54 


X  List  of  Plates 

FACING   PACE 

XVI  Door    in    the   Sala    dello   Zodiaco,  Ducal  Palace, 

Mantua  58 

XVII  Examples  of  Modern  French  Locksmiths'  Work  .      60 

XVIU  Carved  Door,  Palace  of  Versailles      .        .        .62 

XIX  Salon  des  Malachites,  Grand  Trianon,  Versailles    68 

XX  Mantelpiece,  Ducal  Palace,  Urbino       .        .        .74 

XXI  Mantelpiece,  Villa  Giacomelu    ....        78 

XXII  French  Fire-screen,  Louis  XIV  Period  .        .    86 

XXIII  Carved  Wooden  Ceiling,  Villa  Vertemati        .        90 

XXIV  Ceiling  in  Palais  de  Justice,  Rennes      .        .        .92 

XXV  Ceiling  of  the  Sala  degli  Sposi,  Ducal  Palace, 

Mantua 96 

XXVI  Ceiling  in  the  Style  of  Berain  .        .  .        .       100 

XXVII  Ceiling  in  the  Chateau  of  Chantilly  .  .        .102 

XXVIII  Antechamber,  Villa  Cambiaso,  Genoa  .        .      104 
XXIX  Antechamber,  Durazzo  Palace,  Genoa  .        .   106 

XXX  Staircase,  Parodi  Palace,  Genoa       ...      108 

XXXI  Staircase,  Hotel  de  Ville,  Nancy         .        .        .112 

■  XXXII  Staircase,  Palace  of  Fontainebleau  .        .        .116 

XXXIII  French  Armoire,  Louis  XIV  Period       .        .        .120 

XXXIV  Sala  della  Maddalena,  Royal  Palace,  Genoa  .       122 
XXXV  Console  in  Petit  Trianon,  Versailles  .        .  124 


List  of  Plates  xi 

FACING   PAGE 

XXXVI  Salon,  Palace  of  Fontainebleau        .        .        .126 

XXXVII  Room  in  the  Palace  of  Fontainebleau         .  .  128 

XXXVIII  Lit  de  Repos,  Early  Louis  XV  Period       .        ,  130 

XXXIX  Lit  de  Repos,  Louis  XV  Period     .        .        .  .130 

XL  Painted  Wall-panel  and  Door,  Chantilly         .  132 

XLI  French  Boudoir,  Louis  XVI  Period       .        .  .132 

XLII  Salon  d  I'italienne 136 

XLIII  Ball-room,  Royal  Palace,  Genoa          .        .  .138 

XLIV  Saloon,  Villa  Vertemati 140 

XLV  Sal  A  dello  Zodiaco,  Ducal  Palace,  Mantua  .  140 

XLVI  French  Table,  transition  between  Louis  XIV  and 

Louis  XV  Periods 142 

XLVII  Library  of  Louis  XVI,  Palace  of  Versailles     .       144 

XLVIII  Small  Library,  Audley  End 146 

XLIX  French  Writing-chair,  Louis  XV  Period   .        .      150 

L  Dining-room,  Palace  of  Compi^gne         .        .        .154 

LI  Dining-room  Fountain,  Palace  of  Fontainebleau      156 

LII  French  Dining-chair,  Louis  XIV  Period         .        .158 

LIII  French  Dining-chair,  Louis  XVI  Period         .        .158 

LIV  Bedroom,  Palace  of  Fontainebleau    .        .        .162 

LV  Bath-room,  Pitti  Palace,  Florence       .        .        .168 

LVI  Bronze  Andiron,  XVI  Century      .       .       .       .184 


BOOKS  CONSULTED 

FRENCH 

Androuet  du  Cerceau,  Jacciues. 

Les  Plus  Excellents  Batiments  de  France.     Paris,  1607, 

Le  Muet,  Pierre. 

Mani^re  de  Bien  Batir  pour  toutes  sortes  de  Personnes. 

Oppenord,  Gilles  Marie. 
CEuvres.     1730. 

Mariette,  Pierre  Jean. 

L'Architecture  Fran^oise.     1727. 

Briseux,  Charles  Gtienne. 

L'Art  de  Batir  les  Maisons  de  Campagne,     Pari&,  1743. 

Lalonde,  pRANgois  Richard  de. 
Recueil  de  ses  CEuvres. 

AVILER,  C.  A.  d'. 

Cours  d' Architecture.     1760. 

Blondel,  Jacques  pRANgois. 

Architecture  Fran^oise.     Parh,  1732. 
Cours  d' Architecture.     Paris,  1771-77. 
De  la  Distribution  des  Maisons  de  Plaisance  et  de  la  Decoration 
des  fidifices.     Paris,  17^7. 


Books  Consulted  xiii 

ROUBO,  A.  J.,  FILS. 

L'Art  du  Menuisier. 

H^RE  DE  Corny,  Emmanuel. 

Recueil  des  Plans,  Elevations  et  Coupes  des  Chateaux,  Jardins 
et  Dependances  que  le  Roi  de  Pologne  occupe  en  Lorraine. 
Park,  n.  d. 

Percier  et  Fontaine. 

Choix  des  plus  Celebres  Maisons  de  Plaisance  de  Rome  et 

de  ses  Environs.     Paris.  1809. 
Palais,  Maisons,  et  autres  Edifices  Modernes  dessines  a  Rome^ 

Paris,  1798. 
Residences  des  Souverains.     Paris,  i8jj. 

Krafft  et  Ransonnette. 

Plans,  Coupes,  et  Elevations  des  plus  belles  Maisons  et  Hotels 
construits  a  Paris  et  dans  les  Environs.     Paris,   tSoi. 

DuRAND,  Jean  Nicolas  Louis. 

Recueil  et  Parallele  des  Edifices  de  tout  Genre.     Paris,  1800. 
Precis  des  Lemons  d'Architecture  donnees  a  I'Ecole  Royale 
Polytechnique.     Paris,  182J. 

Quatremere  de  QyiNGY,  A.  C. 

Histoire  de  la  Vie  et  des  Ouvrages  des  plus  Celebres  Archi- 
tectes  du  Xle  siecle  jusqu'a  la  fin  du  XVllI  siecle.  Paris, 
1 8 JO. 

Pellassy  de  l'Ousle. 

Histoire  du  Palais  de  Compiegne.     Paris,  n.  d. 

Letarouilly,  Paul  Marie. 

Edifices  de  Rome  Moderne.     Paris,  182^-^y. 


xiv  Books  Consulted 

Ram^e,  Daniel. 

Histoire  G6n6rale  de  TArchitecture.     Paris,  1862. 
Meubles  Religieux  et  Civils  Conserves  dans  les  principaux 
Monuments  et  Musses  de  I'Europe. 

ViOLLET  LE  Due,  EuofeNE  EMMANUEL. 

Dictionnaire  Raisonne  de  I' Architecture  Fran^aise  du  XI«  au 
XVI*  siecle.     Park,  1868. 

Sauvageot,  Claude. 

Palais,  Chateaux,  Hdtels  et  Maisons  de  France  du  XV*  au 
XVIII«  siecle. 

Daly,  C^ar. 

Motifs  Historiques  d'Architecture  et  de  Sculpture  d'Ornement. 

Rouyer  et  Darcel. 

L'Art  Architectural  en  France  depuis   Franjois  I«^  jusqu'a 
Louis  XIV. 

Havard,  Henry. 

Dictionnaire  de  I'Ameublement  et  de  la  Decoration  depuis  le 

XIII*  siecle  jusqu'a  nos  Jours.     Paris,  n.  d. 
Les  Arts  de  I'Ameublement. 

GUILMARD,  D. 

Les  Maitres  Omemanistes.    Paris^  1880. 

Bauchal,  Charles. 

Dictionnaire  des  Architectes  Francis.     Paris,  i88y. 

RouAix,  Paul. 

Les  Styles.     Paris,  n.  d. 

BiBLIOTHfeQUE  DE  L'EnSEIGNEMENT  DES  BeAUX  ArTS. 

Maison  Quantin,  Paris. 


Books  Consulted  xv 

ENGLISH 
Ware,  Isaac. 

A  Complete  Body  of  Architecture.     London,  17^6. 

Brettingham,  Matthew. 

Plans,  Elevations  and  Sections  of  Holkham  in  Norfolk,  the 
Seat  of  the  late  Earl  of  Leicester.   London,  1761. 

Campbell,  Colen. 

Vitruvius  Britannicus;   or,  The  British  Architect.     London, 
1771. 

Adam,  Robert  and  James. 

The  Works  in  Architecture.     London,  177J-1822. 

Hepplewhite,  a. 

The  Cabinet-Maker  and  Upholsterer's  Guide. 

Sheraton,  Thomas. 

The  Cabinet-Maker's  Dictionary.     London,  i8oj. 

Pain,  William. 

The  British  Palladio;  or  The  Builder's  General  Assistant.  Z,ow- 
don,  1797. 

SoANE,  Sir  John. 

Sketches  in  Architecture.     London,  lygj. 

Hakewill,  Arthur  William. 

General  Plan  and  External  Details,  with  Picturesque  Illustra- 
tions, of  Thorpe  Hall,  Peterborough. 

Lewis,  James. 

Original  Designs  in  Architecture. 


jtvi  Books  Consulted 

Pyne,  William  Henry. 

History  of  the  Royal  Residences  of  Windsor  Castle,  St.  James's 
Palace,  Carlton  House,  Kensington  Palace,  Hampton  Court, 
Buckingham  Palace,  and  Frogmore.     London,  1819. 

GwiLT,  Joseph. 

Encyclopedia  of  Architecture.  New  edition.  Longman's, 
1895. 

Fergusson,  James. 

History  of  Architecture.     London,  1874. 
History  of  the  Modern  Styles  of  Architecture.     Third  edition, 
revised  by  Robert  Kerr.     London,  1891. 

GoTCH,  John  Alfred. 

Architecture  of  the  Renaissance  in  England. 

Heaton,  John  Aldam. 

Furniture  and  Decoration  in  England  in  the  Eighteenth 
Century. 

Rosengarten. 

Handbook  of  Architectural  Styles.     New  York,  i8y6. 

Horne,  H.  p. 

The  Binding  of  Books.     London,  1894. 

LOFTIE,  W.  J. 

Inigo  Jones  and  Christopher  Wren.     London,  189J. 

Kerr,  Robert. 

The  English  Gentleman's  House.     London,  186$. 

Stevenson,  J.  J. 

House  Architecture.     London,  1880. 


Books  Consulted  xvii 


GERMAN  AND  ITALIAN 

BURCKHARDT,  JaCOB. 

Architektur  der  Renaissance  in  Italien.     Stuttgart,  1891. 

Reinhardt. 

Palast  Architektur  von  Ober  Italien  und  Toskana. 

GuRLiTT,  Cornelius. 

Geschichte  des  Barockstiles  in  Italien.     Stuttgart,  i88y. 

Ebe,  Gustav. 

Die  Spat-Renaissance.     Berlin,  1886. 

La  Villa  Borghese,  fugri  di  Porta  Pinciana,  con  l'ornamenti 

CHE  SI  OSSERVANO  NEL  DI   LEI   PaLAZZO.      RoPia,   lyOO. 

Intra,  G.  B. 

Mantova  nei  suoi  Monumenti. 

Luzio  E  Renier. 

Mantova  e  Urbino.     Torino-Roma,  i8pj. 

MOLMENTI,   POMPEO. 

La  Storia  di  Venezia  nella  Vita  Privata.     Torino,  188$. 

Malamani,  Vittorio. 

11  Settecento  a  Venezia.     Milano,  189^. 

La  Vita  Italiana  nel  Seicento.    Conferenze  tenute  a  Firenze 

NEL    1890. 


INTRODUCTION 

ROOMS  may  be  decorated  in  two  ways :  by  a  superficial  ap- 
plication of  ornament  totally  independent  of  structure,  or  by 
means  of  those  architectural  features  which  are  part  of  the  organ- 
ism of  every  house,  inside  as  well  as  out. 

In  the  middle  ages,  when  warfare  and  brigandage  shaped  the 
conditions  of  life,  and  men  camped  in  their  castles  much  as  they 
did  in  their  tents,  it  was  natural  that  decorations  should  be  porta- 
ble, and  that  the  naked  walls  of  the  mediaeval  chamber  should  be 
hung  with  arras,  while  a  del,  or  ceiling,  of  cloth  stretched  across 
the  open  timbers  of  its  roof. 

When  life  became  more  secure,  and  when  the  Italian  conquests 
of  the  Valois  had  acquainted  men  north  of  the  Alps  with  the  spirit 
of  classic  tradition,  proportion  and  the  relation  of  voids  to  masses 
gradually  came  to  be  regarded  as  the  chief  decorative  values  of  the 
interior.  Portable  hangings  were  in  consequence  replaced  by 
architectural  ornament:  in  other  words,  the  architecture  of  the 
room  became  its  decoration. 

This  architectural  treatment  held  its  own  through  every  change 
of  taste  until  the  second  quarter  of  the  present  century ;  but  since 
then  various  influences  have  combined  to  sever  the  natural  con- 
nection between  the  outside  of  the  modern  house  and  its  interior. 
In  the  average  house  the  architect's  task  seems  virtually  confined 


XX  Introduction 

to  the  elevations  and  floor-plan.  The  designing  of  what  are  to- 
day regarded  as  insignificant  details,  such  as  mouldings,  archi- 
traves, and  cornices,  has  become  a  perfunctory  work,  hurried 
over  and  unregarded;  and  when  this  work  is  done,  the  uphol- 
sterer is  called  in  to  "  decorate  "  and  furnish  the  rooms. 

As  the  result  of  this  division  of  labor,  house-decoration  has 
ceased  to  be  a  branch  of  architecture.  The  upholsterer  cannot  be 
expected  to  have  the  preliminary  training  necessary  for  architec- 
tural work,  and  it  is  inevitable  that  in  his  hands  form  should  be 
sacrificed  to  color  and  composition  to  detail.  In  his  ignorance 
of  the  legitimate  means  of  producing  certain  effects,  he  is  driven  to 
all  manner  of  expedients,  the  result  of  which  is  a  piling  up  of 
heterogeneous  ornament,  a  multiplication  of  incongruous  effects; 
and  lacking,  as  he  does,  a  definite  first  conception,  his  work  be- 
comes so  involved  that  it  seems  impossible  for  him  to  make  an  end. 

The  confusion  resulting  from  these  unscientific  methods  has 
reflected  itself  in  the  lay  mind,  and  house-decoration  has  come  to 
be  regarded  as  a  black  art  by  those  who  have  seen  their  rooms 
subjected  to  the  manipulations  of  the  modern  upholsterer.  Now, 
in  the  hands  of  decorators  who  understand  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  their  art,  the  surest  effects  are  produced,  not  at  the  ex- 
pense of  simplicity  and  common  sense,  but  by  observing  the  re- 
quirements of  both.  These  requirements  are  identical  with  those 
regulating  domestic  architecture,  the  chief  end  in  both  cases  being 
the  suitable  accommodation  of  the  inmates  of  the  house. 

The  fact  that  this  end  has  in  a  measure  been  lost  sight  of  is  per- 
haps sufficient  warrant  for  the  publication  of  this  elementary 
sketch.  No  study  of  bonse-decoration  as  a  branch  of  architecture 
has  for  at  least  fifty  years  been  published  in  England  or  America ; 
and  though  France  is  always  producing  admirable  monographs 


Introduction  xxi 

on  isolated  branches  of  this  subject,  there  is  no  modern  French 
woric  corresponding  with  such  comprehensive  manuals  as  d'Avi- 
ler's  Cours  d'Arcbite^urs  or  Isaac  Ware's  Complete  Body  of 
Archite^ure. 

The  attempt  to  remedy  this  deficiency  in  some  slight  degree 
has  made  it  necessary  to  dwell  at  length  upon  the  strictly  archi- 
tectural principles  which  controlled  the  work  of  the  old  decorators. 
The  effects  that  they  aimed  at  having  been  based  mainly  on  the 
due  adjustment  of  parts,  it  has  been  impossible  to  explain  their 
methods  without  assuming  their  standpoint  —  that  oi  architectural 
proportion  —  in  contradistinction  to  the  modern  view  of  house- 
decoration  as  superficial  application  of  ornament.  When  house-: 
decoration  was  a  part  of  architecture  all  its  values  were  founded 
on  structural  modifications;  consequently  it  may  seem  that  ideas 
to  be  derived  from  a  study  of  such  methods  suggest  changes  too 
radical  for  those  who  are  not  building,  but  are  merely  decorating. 
Such  changes,  in  fact,  lie  rather  in  the  direction  of  alteration  than 
of  adornment;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  results  attained 
will  be  of  greater  decorative  value  than  were  an  equal  expenditure 
devoted  to  surface-ornament.  Moreover,  the  great  decorators,  if 
scrupulous  in  the  observance  of  architectural  principles,  were  ever 
governed,  in  the  use  of  ornamental  detail,  by  the  {fwippotfuvti,  the 
"wise  moderation,"  of  the  Greeks;  and  the  rooms  of  the  past 
were  both  simpler  in  treatment  and  freer  from  mere  embellish- 
ments than  those  of  to-day. 

Besides,  if  it  be  granted  for  the  sake  of  argument  that  a  reform 
in  house-decoration,  if  not  necessary,  is  at  least  desirable,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  such  reform  can  originate  only  with  those  whose 
means  permit  of  any  experiments  which  their  taste  may  suggest. 
When  the  rich  man  demands  good  architecture  his  neighbors  will 


xxii  Introduction 

get  it  too.  The  vulgarity  of  current  decoration  has  its  source  in 
the  indifference  of  the  wealthy  to  architectural  fitness.  Every  good 
moulding,  every  carefully  studied  detail,  exacted  by  those  who  can 
afford  to  indulge  their  taste,  will  in  time  find  its  way  to  the  car- 
penter-built cottage.  Once  the  right  precedent  is  established,  it 
costs  less  to  follow  than  to  oppose  it 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  well  to  explain  the  seeming  lack  of  ac- 
cord between  the  arguments  used  in  this  book  and  the  illustrations 
chosen  to  interpret  them.  While  much  is  said  of  simplicity,  the 
illustrations  used  are  chiefly  taken  from  houses  of  some  impor- 
tance. This  has  been  done  in  order  that  only  such  apartments  as 
are  accessible  to  the  traveller  might  be  given  as  examples.  Un- 
professional readers  will  probably  be  more  interested  in  studying 
rooms  that  they  have  seen,  or  at  least  heard  of,  than  those  in 
the  ordinary  private  dwelling;  and  the  arguments  advanced  are 
indirectly  sustained  by  the  most  ornate  rooms  here  shown,  since 
their  effect  is  based  on  such  harmony  of  line  that  their  superficial 
ornament  might  be  removed  without  loss  to  the  composition. 

Moreover,  as  some  of  the  illustrations  prove,  the  most  magnifi- 
cent palaces  of  Europe  contain  rooms  as  simple  as  those  in  any 
private  house ;  and  to  point  out  that  simplicity  is  at  home  even 
in  palaces  is  perhaps  not  the  least  service  that  may  be  rendered 
to  the  modern  decorator. 


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THE  HISTORICAL  TRADITION 

THE  last  ten  years  have  been  marked  by  a  notable  develop- 
ment in  architecture  and  decoration,  and  while  France  will 
long  retain  her  present  superiority  in  these  arts,  our  own  advance 
is  perhaps  more  significant  than  that  of  any  other  country. 
When  we  measure  the  work  recently  done  in  the  United  States 
by  the  accepted  architectural  standards  of  ten  years-; ago,  .the 
change  is  certainly  striking,  especially  in  view  of  th,e  *fa<rt"''ihat 
our  local  architects  and  decorators  are  without  the  count-Ms  ^4*^ 
vantages  in  the  way  of  schools,  museums  and  libraries  which  are 
at  the  command  of  their  European  colleagues.  In  Paris,  for  in- 
stance, it  is  impossible  to  take  even  a  short  walk  without  finding 
inspiration  in  those  admirable  buildings,  public  and  private,  re- 
ligious and  secular,  that  bear  the  stamp  of  the  most  refined 
taste  the  world  has  known  since  the  decline  of  the  arts  in  Italy; 
and  probably  all  American  architects  will  acknowledge  that  no 
amount  of  travel  abroad  and  study  at  home  can  compensate  for 
the  lack  of  daily  familiarity  with  such  monuments. 

It  is  therefore  all  the  more  encouraging  to  note  the  steady  ad- 
vance in  taste  and  knowledge  to  which  the  most  recent  ar- 
chitecture in  America  bears  witness.  This  advance  is  chiefly 
due  to  the  fact  that  American  architects  are  beginning  to  per- 


2  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

ceive  two  things  that  their  French  colleagues,  among  all  the 
modern  vagaries  of  taste,  have  never  quite  lost  sight  of:  first 
that  architecture  and  decoration,  having  wandered  since  1800  in 
a  labyrinth  of  dubious  eclecticism,  can  be  set  right  only  by  a 
close  study  of  the  best  models;  and  secondly  that,  given  the  re- 
quirements of  modern  life,  these  models  are  chiefly  to  be  found 
in  buildings  erected  in  Italy  after  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  in  other  European  countries  after  the  full  assimila- 
tion of  the  Italian  influence. 

As  the  latter  of  these  propositions  may  perhaps  be  questioned  by 
those  who,  in  admiring  the  earlier  styles,  sometimes  lose  sight  of 
their  relative  unfitness  for  modern  use,  it  must  be  understood  at 
the  outset  that  it  implies  no  disregard  for  the  inherent  beauties 
of  these  styles.  It  would  be  difficult,  assuredly,  to  find  buildings 
betjter  suited  to  their  original  purpose  than  some  of  the  great  feudal 
casWes',' such  as  Warwick  in  England,  or  Langeais  in  France;  and 
'^  niuth  .njight  be  said  of  the  grim  machicolated  palaces  of  re- 
publican Florence  or  Siena;  but  our  whole  mode  of  life  has  so 
entirely  changed  since  the  days  in  which  these  buildings  were 
erected  that  they  no  longer  answer  to  our  needs.  It  is  only  ne- 
cessary to  picture  the  lives  led  in  those  days  to  see  how  far  re- 
moved from  them  our  present  social  conditions  are.  Inside  and 
outside  the  house,  all  told  of  the  unsettled  condition  of  country 
or  town,  the  danger  of  armed  attack,  the  clumsy  means  of 
defence,  the  insecurity  of  property,  the  few  opportunities  of 
social  intercourse  as  we  understand  it.  A  man's  house  was 
in  very  truth  his  castle  in  the  middle  ages,  and  in  France  and 
England  especially  it  remained  so  until  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 

Thus  it  was  that  many  needs  arose:  the  tall  keep  of  masonry 


The  Historical  Tradition  3 

where  the  inmates,  pent  up  against  attack,  awaited  the  signal 
of  the  watchman  who,  from  his  platform  or  ecbauguette,  gave 
warning  of  assault;  the  ponderous  doors,  oak-ribbed  and  metal- 
studded,  with  doorways  often  narrowed  to  prevent  entrance  of 
two  abreast,  and  so  low  that  the  incomer  had  to  bend  his  head; 
the  windows  that  were  mere  openings  or  slits,  narrow  and  high, 
far  out  of  the  assailants'  reach,  and  piercing  the  walls  without 
regard  to  symmetry  —  not,  as  Ruskin  would  have  us  believe,  be- 
cause irregularity  was  thought  artistic,  but  because  the  mediaeval 
architect,  trained  to  the  uses  of  necessity,  knew  that  he  must  de- 
sign openings  that  should  afford  no  passage  to  the  besiegers' 
arrows,  no  clue  to  what  was  going  on  inside  the  keep.  But 
to  the  reader  familiar  with  Viollet-le-Duc,  or  with  any  of  the 
many  excellent  works  on  English  domestic  architecture,  further 
details  will  seem  superfluous.  It  is  necessary,  however,  to  point 
out  that  long  after  the  conditions  of  life  in  Europe  had  changed, 
houses  retained  many  features  of  the  feudal  period.  The  survival 
of  obsolete  customs  which  makes  the  study  of  sociology  so  in- 
teresting, has  its  parallel  in  the  history  of  architecture.  In  the 
feudal  countries  especially,  where  the  conflict  between  the  great 
nobles  and  the  king  was  of  such  long  duration  that  civilization 
spread  very  slowly,  architecture  was  proportionately  slow  to  give 
up  many  of  its  feudal  characteristics.  In  Italy,  on  the  contrary, 
where  one  city  after  another  succumbed  to  some  accomplished 
condottiere  who  between  his  campaigns  read  Virgil  and  collected 
antique  marbles,  the  rugged  little  republics  were  soon  converted 
into  brilliant  courts  where,  life  being  relatively  secure,  social 
intercourse  rapidly  developed.  This  change  of  conditions  brought 
with  it  the  paved  street  and  square,  the  large-windowed  palaces 
with  their  great  court-yards  and  stately  open  staircases,  and  the 


4  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

market-place  with  its  loggia  adorned  with  statues  and  marble 
seats. 

Italy,  in  short,  returned  instinctively  to  the  Roman  ideal  of  civic 
life:  the  life  of  the  street,  the  forum  and  the  baths.  These  very 
conditions,  though  approaching  so  much  nearer  than  feudalism 
to  our  modern  civilization,  in  some  respects  make  the  Italian 
architecture  of  the  Renaissance  less  serviceable  as  a  model  than 
the  French  and  English  styles  later  developed  from  it.  The 
very  dangers  and  barbarities  of  feudalism  had  fostered  and  pre- 
served the  idea  of  home  as  of  something  private,  shut  off  from 
intrusion;  and  while  the  Roman  ideal  flowered  in  the  great  palace 
with  its  galleries,  loggias  and  saloons,  itself  a  kind  of  roofed-in 
forum,  the  French  or  English  feudal  keep  became,  by  the  same 
process  of  growth,  the  modern  private  house.  The  domestic 
architecture  of  the  Renaissance  in  Italy  offers  but  two  distinctively 
characteristic  styles  of  building:  the  palace  and  the  villa  or  hunt- 
ing-lodge.^ There  is  nothing  corresponding  in  interior  arrange- 
ments with  the  French  or  English  town  house,  or  the  manoir 
where  the  provincial  nobles  lived  all  the  year  round.  The  villa 
was  a  mere  perch  used  for  a  few  weeks  of  gaiety  in  spring  or  au- 
tumn ;  it  was  never  a  home  as  the  French  or  English  country-house 
was.  There  were,  of  course,  private  houses  in  Renaissance  Italy, 
but  these  were  occupied  rather  by  shopkeepers,  craftsmen,  and  the 
bourgeoisie  than  by  the  class  which  in  France  and  England  lived 

1  Charming  as  the  Italian  villa  is,  it  can  hardly  be  used  in  our  Northern  States 
without  certain  modifications,  unless  it  is  merely  occupied  for  a  few  weeks  in  mid- 
summer; whereas  the  average  French  or  English  country  house  built  after  1600  is 
perfectly  suited  to  our  climate  and  habits.  The  chief  features  of  the  Italian  villa  are 
the  open  central  cortile  and  the  large  saloon  two  stories  high.  An  adaptation  of 
these  better  suited  to  a  cold  climate  is  to  be  found  in  the  English  country  houses 
built  in  the  Palladian  manner  after  its  introduction  by  Inigo  Jones.  See  Campbell's 
yitruvius  Britannicus  for  numerous  examples. 


The  Historical  Tradition  5 

in  country  houses  or  small  private  hotels.  The  elevations  of 
these  small  Italian  houses  are  often  admirable  examples  of  domes- 
tic architecture,  but  their  planning  is  rudimentary,  and  it  may  be 
said  that  the  characteristic  tendencies  of  modern  house-planning 
were  developed  rather  in  the  mezzanin  or  low-studded  interme- 
diate story  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  palace  than  in  the  small 
house  of  the  same  period. 

It  is  a  fact  recognized  by  political  economists  that  changes  in 
manners  and  customs,  no  matter  under  what  form  of  government, 
usually  originate  with  the  wealthy  or  aristocratic  minority,  and 
are  thence  transmitted  to  the  other  classes.  Thus  the  bourgeois 
of  one  generation  lives  more  like  the  aristocrat  of  a  previous 
generation  than  like  his  own  predecessors.  This  rule  naturally 
holds  good  of  house-^jlanning,  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  the 
origin  of  modern  house-planning  should  be  sought  rather  in  the 
prince's  mezzanin  than  in  the  small  middle-class  dwelling.  The 
Italian  mezzanin  probably  originated  in  the  habit  of  building 
certain  very  high-studded  saloons  and  of  lowering  the  ceiling 
of  the  adjoining  rooms.  This  created  an  intermediate  story,  or 
rather  scattered  intermediate  rooms,  which  Bramante  was  among 
the  first  to  use  in  the  planning  of  his  palaces;  but  Bramante  did 
not  reveal  the  existence  of  the  mezzanin  in  his  facades,  and  it  was 
not  until  the  time  of  Peruzzi  and  his  contemporaries  that  it  be- 
came, both  in  plan  and  elevation,  an  accepted  part  of  the  Italian 
palace.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  year  1500  is  a  convenient 
point  from  which  to  date  the  beginning  of  modern  house-plan- 
ning; but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  date  is  purely  arbi- 
trary, and  represents  merely  an  imaginary  line  drawn  between 
mediaeval  and  modern  ways  of  living  and  house-planning,  as 
exemplified  respectively,  for  instance,  in  the  ducal  palace  of  Ur- 


6  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

bino,  built  by  Luciano  da  Laurano  about  1468,  and  the  palace 
of  the  Massimi  alle  Colonne  in  Rome,  built  by  Baldassare  Peruzzi 
during  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  lives  of  the  great  Italian  nobles  were  essentially  open-air 
lives:  all  was  organized  with  a  view  to  public  pageants,  cere- 
monies and  entertainments.  Domestic  life  was  subordinated  to 
this  spectacular  existence,  and  instead  of  building  private  houses 
in  our  sense,  they  built  palaces,  of  which  they  set  aside  a  por- 
tion for  the  use  of  the  family.  Every  Italian  palace  has  its  mez- 
zanin  or  private  apartment;  but  this  part  of  the  building  is  now 
seldom  seen  by  travellers  in  Italy.  Not  only  is  it  usually  inhab- 
ited by  the  owners  of  the  palace  but,  its  decorations  being  simpler 
than  those  of  the  piano  nobile,  or  principal  story,  it  is  not  thought 
worthy  of  Inspection.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  treatment  of  the 
mezzanin  was  generally  most  beautiful,  because  most  suitable  ; 
and  while  the  Italian  Renaissance  palace  can  seldom  serve  as  a 
model  for  a  modern  private  house,  the  decoration  of  the  mezzanin 
rooms  is  full  of  appropriate  suggestion. 

In  France  and  England,  on  the  other  hand,  private  life  was 
gradually,  though  slowly,  developing  along  the  lines  it  still  fol- 
lows in  the  present  day.  It  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  that 
what  we  call  modern  civilization  was  a  later  growth  in  these  two 
countries  than  in  Italy.  If  this  fact  is  insisted  upon,  it  is  only  be- 
cause it  explains  the  relative  unsuitability  of  French  Renaissance 
or  Tudor  and  Elizabethan  architecture  to  modern  life.  In  France, 
for  instance,  it  was  not  until  the  Fronde  was  subdued  and  Louis 
XIV  firmly  established  on  the  throne,  that  the  elements  which 
compose  what  we  call  modern  life  really  began  to  combine.  In 
fact,  it  might  be  said  that  the  feudalism  of  which  the  Fronde  was 
the  lingering  expression  had  its  counterpart  in  the  architecture  of 


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The  Historical  Tradition  7 

the  period.  While  long  familiarity  with  Italy  was  beginning  to  tell 
upon  the  practical  side  of  house-planning,  many  obsolete  details 
were  still  preserved.  Even  the  most  enthusiastic  admirer  of  the 
French  Renaissance  would  hardly  maintain  that  the  houses  of  that 
period  are  what  we  should  call  in  the  modern  sense  "convenient." 
It  would  be  impossible  for  a  modern  family  to  occupy  with  any 
degree  of  comfort  the  H6tel  Vogue  at  Dijon,  one  of  the  best  exam- 
ples (as  originally  planned)  of  sixteenth-century  domestic  archi- 
tecture in  France.*  The  same  objection  applies  to  the  furniture  of 
the  period.  This  arose  from  the  fact  that,  owing  to  the  unsettled 
state  of  the  country,  the  landed  proprietor  always  carried  his  furni- 
ture with  him  when  he  travelled  from  one  estate  to  another. 
Furniture,  in  the  vocabulary  of  the  middle  ages,  meant  something 
which  may  be  transported;  "Meubles  sont  apelez  qu'on  peut 
transporter";  —  hence  the  lack  of  variety  in  furniture  before  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  also  its  unsuitableness  to  modern  life. 
Chairs  and  cabinets  that  had  to  be  carried  about  on  mule-back 
were  necessarily  somewhat  stiff  and  angular  in  design.  It  is  per- 
haps not  too  much  to  say  that  a  comfortable  chair,  in  our  self- 
indulgent  modern  sense,  did  not  exist  before  the  Louis  XIV  arm- 
chair (see  Plate  IV);  and  the  cushioned  bergere,  the  ancestor 
of  our  upholstered  easy-chair,  cannot  be  traced  back  further 
than  the  Regency.  Prior  to  the  time  of  Louis  XIV,  the  most 
luxurious  people  had  to  content  themselves  with  hard  straight- 
backed  seats.  The  necessities  of  transportation  permitted  little 
variety  of  design,  and  every  piece  of  furniture  was  constructed 
with  the  double  purpose  of  being  easily  carried  about  and  of 
being  used  as  a  trunk  (see  Plate  I).  As  Havard  says,  "  Tout  meu- 
ble  se  traduisait  par  un  coflfre."    The  unvarying  design  of  the 

1  The  plan  of  the  Hotel  Vogue  has  been  greatly  modified. 


8  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

cabinets  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  they  were  made  to  form  two 
trunks,*  and  even  the  chairs  and  settles  had  hollow  seats  which 
could  be  packed  with  the  owners'  wardrobe  (see  Plate  II).  The 
king  himself,  when  he  went  from  one  chateau  to  another,  carried 
all  his  furniture  with  him,  and  it  is  thus  not  surprising  that  lesser 
people  contented  themselves  with  a  few  substantial  chairs  and 
cabinets,  and  enough  arras  or  cloth  of  Douai  to  cover  the 
draughty  walls  of  their  country-houses.  One  of  Madame  de 
Sevigne's  letters  gives  an  amusing  instance  of  the  scarceness  of 
furniture  even  in  the  time  of  Louis  XIV.  In  describing  a  fire  in 
a  house  near  her  own  hdtel  in  Paris,  she  says  that  one  or  two 
of  the  persons  from  the  burning  house  were  brought  to  her  for 
shelter,  because  it  was  known  in  the  neighborhood  (at  that 
time  a  rich  and  fashionable  one)  that  she  had  an  extra  bed  in 
the  house! 

It  was  not  until  the  social  influences  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV 
were  fully  established  that  modern  domestic  life  really  began. 
Tradition  ascribes  to  Madame  de  Rambouillet  a  leading  share  in 
the  advance  in  practical  house-planning;  but  probably  what  she 
did  is  merely  typical  of  the  modifications  which  the  new  social 
conditions  were  everywhere  producing.  It  is  certain  that  at  this 
time  houses  and  rooms  first  began  to  be  comfortable.  The 
immense  cavernous  fireplaces  originally  meant  for  the  roasting  of 
beeves  and  the  warming  of  a  flock  of  frozen  retainers, —  "les 
grandes  antiquailles  de  cheminees,"  as  Madame  de  Sevigne  called 
them, —  were  replaced  by  the  compact  chimney-piece  of  modern 
times.  Cushioned  bergires  took  the  place  of  the  throne-like  seats 
of  Louis  XI II,  screens  kept  off  unwelcome  draughts,  Savonnerie 

l  Cabinets  retained  this  shape  after  the  transporting  of  furniture  had  ceased  to  be  a 
necessity  (see  Plate  HI). 


The  Historical  Tradition  9 

or  moquette  carpets  covered  the  stone  or  marble  floors,  and 
grandeur  gave  way  to  luxury.^ 

English  architecture  having  followed  a  line  of  development  so 
similar  that  it  need  not  here  be  traced,  it  remains  only  to  examine 
in  detail  the  opening  proposition,  namely,  that  modern  architec- 
ture and  decoration,  having  in  many  ways  deviated  from  the 
paths  which  the  experience  of  the  past  had  marked  out  for  them, 
can  be  reclaimed  only  by  a  study  of  the  best  models. 

It  might  of  course  be  said  that  to  attain  this  end  originality  is 
more  necessary  than  imitativeness.  To  this  it  may  be  replied  that 
no  lost  art  can  be  re-acquired  without  at  least  for  a  time  going 
back  to  the  methods  and  manner  of  those  who  formerly  practised 
it;  or  the  objection  may  be  met  by  the  question.  What  is  origi- 
nality in  art  ?  Perhaps  it  is  easier  to  define  what  it  is  not;  and 
this  may  be  done  by  saying  that  it  is  never  a  wilful  rejection  of 
what  have  been  accepted  as  the  necessary  laws  of  the  various 
forms  of  art.  Thus,  in  reasoning,  originality  lies  not  in  discard- 
ing the  necessary  laws  of  thought,  but  in  using  them  to  express 
new  intellectual  conceptions;  in  poetry,  originality  consists  not  in 
discarding  the  necessary  laws  of  rhythm,  but  in  finding  new 
rhythms  within  the  limits  of  those  laws.  Most  of  the  features 
of  architecture  that  have  persisted  through  various  fluctuations 
of  taste  owe  their  preservation  to  the  fact  that  they  have  been 
proved  by  experience  to  be  necessary ;  and  it  will  be  found  that 
none  of  them  precludes  the  exercise  of  individual  taste,  any  more 
than  the  acceptance  of  the  syllogism  or  of  the  laws  of  rhythm  pre- 
vents new  thinkers  and  new  poets  from  saying  what  has  never 

1  It  must  be  remembered  that  in  describing  the  decoration  of  any  given  period, 
we  refer  to  the  private  houses,  not  the  royal  palaces,  of  that  period.  Versailles  w%s 
more  splendid  than  any  previous  palace;  but  private  houses  at  that  date  were  less 
splendid,  though  far  more  luxurious,  than  during  the  Renaissance. 


lo  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

been  said  before.  Once  this  is  clearly  understood,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  supposed  conflict  between  originality  and  tradition  is  no 
conflict  at  all.* 

In  citing  logic  and  poetry,  those  arts  have  been  purposely 
chosen  of  which  the  laws  will  perhaps  best  help  to  explain  and 
illustrate  the  character  of  architectural  limitations.  A  building, 
for  whatever  purpose  erected,  must  be  built  in  strict  accordance 
with  the  requirements  of  that  purpose;  in  other  words,  it  must 
have  a  reason  for  being  as  it  is  and  must  be  as  it  is  for  that  reason. 
Its  decoration  must  harmonize  with  the  structural  limitations 
(which  is  by  no  means  the  same  thing  as  saying  that  all  decora- 
tion must  be  structural),  and  from  this  harmony  of  the  general 
scheme  of  decoration  with  the  building,  and  of  the  details  of 
the  decoration  with  each  other,  springs  the  rhythm  that  dis- 
tinguishes architecture  from  mere  construction.  Thus  all  good 
architecture  and  good  decoration  (which,  it  must  never  be  for- 
gotten, is  only  interior  arcbite^ure)  must  be  based  on  rhythm 
and  logic.  A  house,  or  room,  must  be  planned  as  it  is  because 
it  could  not,  in  reason,  be  otherwise;  must  be  decorated  as  it  is 
because  no  other  decoration  would  harmonize  as  well  with  the 
plan. 

Many  of  the  most  popular  features  in  modern  house-planning 
and  decoration  will  not  be  found  to  stand  this  double  test.  Often 
(as  will  be  shown  further  on)  they  are  merely  survivals  of  earlier 
social  conditions,  and  have  been  preserved  in  obedience  to  that 
instinct    that    makes    people    cling   to   so    many    customs    the 

1  "  Si  I'on  dispose  un  edifice  d'une  maniere  convenable  a  I'usage  auquel  on  le 
destine,  ne  differera-t-il  pas  sensiblement  d'un  autre  edifice  destine  a  un  autre  usage  ? 
N'aura-t-il  pas  naturellement  un  caractere,  et,  qui  plus  est,  son  caractere  propre  ?  " 
J.  L.  N.  Durand.  Precis  des  Lefons  d' Architecture  donnies  a  I'Ecole  Rqyale  Poly- 
Uchnique.     Paris,  1823. 


PLATE  III. 


FRENCH  ARMOIRE,  XVI  CENTURY. 


The  Historical  Tradition  1 1 

meaning  of  which  is  lost.  In  other  cases  they  have  been  revived 
by  the  archaeologizing  spirit  which  is  so  characteristic  of  the 
present  time,  and  which  so  often  leads  its  possessors  to  think 
that  a  thing  must  be  beautiful  because  it  is  old  and  appropriate 
because  it  is  beautiful. 

But  since  the  beauty  of  all  such  features  depends  on  their  ap- 
propriateness, they  may  in  every  case  be  replaced  by  a  more 
suitable  form  of  treatment  without  loss  to  the  general  effect  of 
house  or  room.  It  is  this  which  makes  it  important  that  each 
room  (or,  better  still,  all  the  rooms)  in  a  house  should  receive  the 
same  style  of  decoration.  To  some  people  this  may  seem  as 
meaningless  a  piece  of  archaism  as  the  habit  of  using  obsolete 
fragments  of  planning  or  decoration;  but  such  is  not  the  case. 
It  must  not  be  forgotten,  in  discussing  the  question  of  reproduc- 
ing certain  styles,  that  the  essence  of  a  style  lies  not  in  its  use  of 
ornament,  but  in  its  handling  of  proportion.  Structure  conditions 
ornament,  not  ornament  structure.  That  is,  a  room  with  unsuit- 
ably proportioned  openings,  wall-spaces  and  cornice  might  re- 
ceive a  surface  application  of  Louis  XV  or  Louis  XVI  ornament 
and  not  represent  either  of  those  styles  of  decoration ;  whereas  a 
room  constructed  according  to  the  laws  of  proportion  accepted  in 
one  or  the  other  of  those  periods,  in  spite  of  a  surface  application 
of  decorative  detail  widely  different  in  character, —  say  Roman- 
esque or  Gothic, —  would  yet  maintain  its  distinctive  style,  be- 
cause the  detail,  in  conforming  with  the  laws  of  proportion 
governing  the  structure  of  the  room,  must  necessarily  conform 
with  its  style.  In  other  words,  decoration  is  always  subservient 
to  proportion ;  and  a  room,  whatever  its  decoration  may  be,  must 
represent  the  style  to  which  its  proportions  belong.  The  less 
cannot  include  the  greater.     Unfortunately  it  is  usually  by  orna- 


12  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

mental  details,  rather  than  by  proportion,  that  people  distingui  ^^ 
one  style  from  another.  To  many  persons,  garlands,  bow-knots, 
quivers,  and  a  great  deal  of  gilding  represent  the  Louis  XVI 
style;  if  they  object  to  these,  they  condemn  the  style.  To  an 
architect  familiar  with  the  subject  the  same  style  means  some- 
thing absolutely  different.  He  knows  that  a  Louis  XVI  room 
may  exist  without  any  of  these  or  similar  characteristics;  and 
he  often  deprecates  their  use  as  representing  the  cheaper  and  more 
trivial  effects  of  the  period,  and  those  that  have  most  helped  to 
vulgarize  it.  In  fact,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  his  use  of  them  is  a 
concession  to  the  client  who,  having  asked  for  a  Louis  XVI  room, 
would  not  know  he  had  got  it  were  these  details  left  out.^ 

Another  thing  which  has  perhaps  contributed  to  make  people 
distrustful  of  "styles"  is  the  garbled  form  in  which  they  are 
presented  by  some  architects.  After  a  period  of  eclecticism 
that  has  lasted  long  enough  to  make  architects  and  decorators 
lose  their  traditional  habits  of  design,  there  has  arisen  a  sudden 
demand  for  "style."  It  necessarily  follows  that  only  the  most 
competent  are  ready  to  respond  to  this  unexpected  summons. 
Much  has  to  be  relearned,  still  more  to  be  unlearned.  The 
essence  of  the  great  styles  lay  in  proportion  and  the  science  of 
proportion  is  not  to  be  acquired  in  a  day.  In  fact,  in  such  mat- 
ters the  cultivated  layman,  whether  or  not  he  has  any  special 
familiarity  with  the  different  schools  of  architecture,  is  often  a 
better  judge  than  the  half-educated  architect.  It  is  no  wonder 
that  people  of  taste  are  dfsconcerted  by  the  so-called  "colonial" 
houses  where  stair-rails  are  used  as  roof-balustrades  and  mantel- 

1  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  so-called  "  styles  "  of  Louis  XIV,  Louis  XV 
and  Louis  XVI  were,  in  fact,  only  the  gradual  development  of  one  organic  style,  and 
hence  differed  only  in  the  superficial  use  of  ornament. 


The  Historical  Tradition  13 

friezes  as  exterior  entablatures,  or  by  Louis  XV  rooms  where  the 
wavy  movement  which,  in  the  best  rococo,  was  always  an  orna- 
mental incident  and  never  broke  up  the  main  lines  of  the  design, 
is  suffered  to  run  riot  through  the  whole  treatment  of  the  walls, 
so  that  the  bewildered  eye  seeks  in  vain  for  a  straight  line  amid 
the  whirl  of  incoherent  curves. 

To  conform  to  a  style,  then,  is  to  accept  those  rules  of  propor- 
tion which  the  artistic  experience  of  centuries  has  established  as 
the  best,  while  within  those  limits  allowing  free  scope  to  the 
individual  requirements  which  must  inevitably  modify  every 
house  or  room  adapted  to  the  use  and  convenience  of  its  occu- 
pants. 

There  is  one  thing  more  to  be  said  in  defence  of  conformity  to 
style;  and  that  is,  the  difficulty  of  getting  rid  of  style.  Strive  as 
we  may  for  originality,  we  are  hampered  at  every  turn  by  an 
artistic  tradition  of  over  two  thousand  years.  Does  any  but  the 
most  inexperienced  architect  really  think  that  he  can  ever  rid 
himself  of  such  an  inheritance  ?  He  may  mutilate  or  misapply 
the  component  parts  of  his  design,  but  he  cannot  originate  a 
whole  new  architectural  alphabet.  The  chances  are  that  he  will 
not  find  it  easy  to  invent  one  wholly  new  moulding. 

The  styles  especially  suited  to  modern  life  have  already  been 
roughly  indicated  as  those  prevailing  in  Italy  since  1500,  in  France 
from  the  time  of  Louis  XIV,  and  in  England  since  the  introduction 
of  the  Italian  manner  by  Inigo  Jones;  and  as  the  French  and  Eng- 
lish styles  are  perhaps  more  familiar  to  the  general  reader,  the 
examples  given  will  usually  be  drawn  from  these;  Supposing 
the  argument  in  favor  of  these  styles  to  have  been  accepted,  at 
least  as  a  working  hypothesis,  it  must  be  explained  why,  in  each 
room,   the  decoration  and  furniture  should   harmonize.      Most 


14  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

people  will  admit  the  necessity  of  harmonizing  the  colors  in  a 
room,  because  a  feeling  for  color  is  more  general  than  a  feeling 
for  form;  but  in  reality  the  latter  is  the  more  important  in  decora- 
tion, and  it  is  the  feeling  for  form,  and  not  any  archaeological 
affectation,  which  makes  the  best  decorators  insist  upon  the  ne- 
cessity of  keeping  to  the  same  style  of  furniture  and  decoration. 
Thus  the  massive  dimensions  and  heavy  panelling  of  a  seven- 
teenth-century room  would  dwarf  a  set  of  eighteenth-century 
furniture;  and  the  wavy,  capricious  movement  of  Louis  XV  dec- 
oration would  make  the  austere  yet  delicate  lines  of  Adam  furni- 
ture look  stiflF  and  mean. 

Many  persons  object  not  only  to  any  attempt  at  uniformity  of 
style,  but  to  the  use  of  any  recognized  style  in  the  decoration  of  a 
room.  They  characterize  it,  according  to  their  individual  views, 
as  "servile,"  "formal,"  or  "pretentious." 

It  has  already  been  suggested  that  to  conform  within  rational 
limits  to  a  given  style  is  no  more  servile  than  to  pay  one's  taxes  or 
to  write  according  to  the  rules  of  grammar.  As  to  the  accusations 
of  formality  and  pretentiousness  (which  are  more  often  made  in 
America  than  elsewhere),  they  may  probably  be  explained  by  the 
fact  that  most  Americans  necessarily  form  their  idea  of  the  great 
European  styles  from  public  buildings  and  palaces.  Certainly,  if 
an  architect  were  to  propose  to  his  client  to  decorate  a  room  in  a 
moderate-sized  house  in  the  Louis  XIV  style,  and  if  the  client  had 
formed  his  idea  of  that  style  from  the  state  apartments  in  the 
palace  at  Versailles,  he  would  be  justified  in  rejecting  the  pro- 
posed treatment  as  absolutely  unsuitable  to  modern  private  life; 
whereas  the  architect  who  had  gone  somewhat  more  deeply  into 
the  subject  might  have  singled  out  the  style  as  eminently  suita- 
ble, having  in  mind  one  of  the  simple  panelled  rooms,  with  tall 


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The  Historical  Tradition  15 

windows,  a  dignified  fireplace,  large  tables  and  comfortable 
arm-chairs,  which  were  to  be  found  in  the  private  houses  of  the 
same  period  (see  Plate  V).  It  is  the  old  story  of  the  two  knights 
fighting  about  the  color  of  the  shield.  Both  architect  and  client 
would  be  right,  but  they  would  be  looking  at  the  different  sides 
of  the  question.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  bed-rooms,  sitting-rooms, 
libraries  and  other  private  apartments  in  the  smaller  dwelling- 
houses  built  in  Europe  between  1650  and  1800  were  far  simpler, 
less  pretentious  and  more  practical  in  treatment  than  those  in  the 
average  modern  house. 

It  is  therefore  hoped  that  the  antagonists  of  "style,"  when  they 
are  shown  that  to  follow  a  certain  style  is  not  to  sacrifice  either 
convenience  or  imagination,  but  to  give  more  latitude  to  both, 
will  withdraw  an  opposition  which  seems  to  be  based  on  a  mis- 
apprehension of  facts. 

Hitherto  architecture  and  decoration  have  been  spoken  of  as 
one,  as  in  any  well-designed  house  they  ought  to  be.  Indeed,  it 
is  one  of  the  numerous  disadvantages  of  the  present  use  of  styles, 
that  unless  the  architect  who  has  built  the  house  also  decorates  it, 
the  most  hopeless  discord  is  apt  to  result.  This  was  otherwise 
before  our  present  desire  for  variety  had  thrown  architects,  deco- 
rators, and  workmen  out  of  the  regular  routine  of  their  business. 
Before  1800  the  decorator  called  upon  to  treat  the  interior  of 
a  house  invariably  found  a  suitable  background  prepared  for 
his  work,  while  much  in  the  way  of  detail  was  intrusted  to  the 
workmen,  who  were  trained  in  certain  traditions  instead  of  being 
called  upon  to  carry  out  in  each  new  house  the  vagaries  of  a 
different  designer. 

But  it  is  with  the  decorator's  work  alone  that  these  pages  are 
concerned,  and  the  above  digression  is  intended  to  explain  why 


1 6  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

his  task  is  now  so  difficult,  and  why  his  results  are  so  often 
unsatisfactory  to  himself  as  well  as  to  his  clients.  The  decorator 
of  the  present  day  may  be  compared  to  a  person  who  is  called 
upon  to  write  a  letter  in  the  English  language,  but  is  ordered, 
in  so  doing,  to  conform  to  the  Chinese  or  Egyptian  rules  of 
grammar,  or  possibly  to  both  together. 

By  the  use  of  a  little  common  sense  and  a  reasonable  con- 
formity to  those  traditions  of  design  which  have  been  tested  by 
generations  of  architects,  it  is  possible  to  produce  great  variety  in 
the  decoration  of  rooms  without  losing  sight  of  the  purpose  for 
which  they  are  intended.  Indeed,  the  more  closely  this  purpose 
is  kept  in  view,  and  the  more  clearly  it  is  expressed  in  all  the 
details  of  each  room,  the  more  pleasing  that  room  will  be,  so  that 
it  is  easy  to  make  a  room  with  tinted  walls,  deal  furniture  and 
dimity  curtains  more  beautiful,  because  more  logical  and  more 
harmonious,  than  a  ball-room  lined  with  gold  and  marbles,  in 
which  the  laws  of  rhythm  and  logic  have  been  ignored. 


PLATE  yi. 


FRENCH  ARMCHAIR,  LOUIS  XV  PERIOD. 


11 

ROOMS  IN  GENERAL 

BEFORE  beginning  to  decorate  a  room  it  is  essential  to  con- 
sider for  what  purpose  the  room  is  to  be  used.  It  is  not 
enough  to  ticket  it  with  some  such  general  designation  as  "li- 
brary," "drawing-room,"  or  "den."  The  individual  tastes  and 
habits  of  the  people  who  are  to  occupy  it  must  be  taken  into  ac- 
count; it  must  be  not  "a  library,"  or  "a  drawing-room,*'  but  the 
library  or  the  drawing-room  best  suited  to  the  master  or  mistress 
of  the  Ifouse  which  is  being  decorated.  Individuality  in  house- 
furnishing  has  seldom  been  more  harped  upon  than  at  the  present 
time.  That  cheap  originality  which  finds  expression  in  putting 
things  to  uses  for  which  they  were  not  intended  is  often  con- 
founded with  individuality;  whereas  the  latter  consists  not  in  an 
attempt  to  be  different  from  other  people  at  the  cost  of  comfort, 
but  in  the  desire  to  be  comfortable  in  one's  own  way,  even 
though  it  be  the  way  of  a  monotonously  large  majority.  It 
seems  easier  to  most  people  to  arrange  a  room  like  some  one 
else's  than  to  analyze  and  express  their  own  needs.  Men,  in 
these  matters,  are  less  exacting  than  women,  because  their  de- 
mands, besides  being  simpler,  are  uncomplicated  by  the  feminine 
tendency  to  want  things  because  other  people  have  them,  rathe. 
than  to  have  things  because  they  are  wanted. 

J7 


1 8  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

But  it  must  never  be  forgotten  that  every  one  is  unconsciously 
tyrannized  over  by  the  wants  of  others, —  the  wants  of  dead  and 
gone  predecessors,  who  have  an  inconvenient  way  of  thrusting 
their  diflTerent  habits  and  tastes  across  the  current  of  later  exis- 
tences. The  unsatisfactory  relations  of  some  people  with  their 
rooms  are  often  to  be  explained  in  this  way.  They  have  still  in 
their  blood  the  traditional  uses  to  which  these  rooms  were  put  in 
times  quite  different  from  the  present.  It  is  only  an  unconscious 
extension  of  the  conscious  habit  which  old-fashioned  people  have 
of  clinging  to  their  parents'  way  of  living.  The  difficulty  of 
reconciling  these  instincts  with  our  own  comfort  and  convenience, 
and  the  various  compromises  to  which  they  lead  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  our  rooms,  will  be  more  fully  dealt  with  in  the  following 
chapters.  To  go  to  the  opposite  extreme  and  discard  things 
because  they  are  old-fashioned  is  equally  unreasonable.  The 
golden  mean  lies  in  trying  to  arrange  our  houses  with  a  view  to 
our  own  comfort  and  convenience;  and  it  will  be  found  that  the 
more  closely  we  follow  this  rule  the  easier  our  rooms  will  be  to 
furnish  and  the  pleasanter  to  live  in. 

People  whose  attention  has  never  been  specially  called  to  the 
raison  d'itre  of  house-furnishing  sometimes  conclude  that  because 
a  thing  is  unusual  :t  \z  artistic,  or  rather  that  through  some  occult 
process  the  most  ordinary  things  become  artistic  by  being  used  in 
an  unusual  manner;  while  others,  warned  by  the  visible  results 
of  this  theory  of  furnishing,  infer  that  everything  artistic  is  un- 
practical. In  the  Anglo-Saxon  mind  beauty  is  not  spontaneously 
born  of  material  wants,  as  it  is  with  the  Latin  races.  We  have  to 
make  things  beautiful ;  they  do  not  grow  so  of  themselves.  The 
necessity  of  making  this  effort  has  caused  many  people  to  put 
aside  the  whole  problem  of  beauty  and  fitness  in  household  deco- 


Rooms  in  General  19 

ration  as  something  mysterious  and  incomprehensible  to  the 
uninitiated.  The  architect  and  decorator  are  often  aware  that 
they  are  regarded  by  their  clients  as  the  possessors  of  some 
strange  craft  like  black  magic  or  astrology. 

This  fatalistic  attitude  has  complicated  the  simple  and  intel- 
ligible process  of  house-furnishing,  and  has  produced  much  of 
the  discomfort  which  causes  so  many  rooms  to  be  shunned  by 
everybody  in  the  house,  in  spite  (or  rather  because)  of  all  the 
money  and  ingenuity  expended  on  their  arrangement.  Yet  to 
penetrate  the  mystery  of  house-furnishing  it  is  only  necessary 
to  analyze  one  satisfactory  room  and  to  notice  wherein  its  charm 
lies.  To  the  fastidious  eye  it  will,  of  course,  be  found  in  fitness 
of  proportion,  in  the  proper  use  of  each  moulding  and  in  the 
harmony  of  all  the  decorative  processes  ;  and  even  to  those 
who  think  themselves  indiflFerent  to  such  detail,  much  of  the 
sense  of  restfulness  and  comfort  produced  by  certain  rooms 
depends  on  the  due  adjustment  of  their  fundamental  parts. 
Different  rooms  minister  to  diflTerent  wants  and  while  a  room 
may  be  made  very  livable  without  satisfying  any  but  the  ma- 
terial requirements  of  its  inmates  it  is  evident  that  the  perfect 
room  should  combine  these  qualities  with  what  corresponds  to 
them  in  a  higher  order  of  needs.  At  present,  however,  the 
subject  deals  only  with  the  material  livableness  of  a  room,  and 
this  will  generally  be  found  to  consist  in  the  position  of  the 
doors  and  fireplace,  the  accessibility  of  the  windows,  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  furniture,  the  privacy  of  the  room  and  the  absence 
of  the  superfluous. 

The  position  of  doors  and  fireplace,  though  the  subject  comes 
properly  under  the  head  of  house-planning,  may  be  included  in 
this  summary,  because   in   rearranging  a  room  it  is  often  pos- 


20  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

sible  to  change  its  openings,  or  at  any  rate,  in  the  case  of  doors, 
to  modify  their  dimensions. 

The  fireplace  must  be  the  focus  of  every  rational  scheme  of 
arrangement.  Nothing  is  so  dreary,  so  hopeless  to  deal  with, 
as  a  room  in  which  the  fireplace  occupies  a  narrow  space  be- 
tween two  doors,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  sit  about  the  hearth.* 
Next  in  importance  come  the  windows.  In  town  houses  es- 
pecially, where  there  is  so  little  light  that  every  ray  is  precious 
to  the  reader  or  worker,  window-space  is  invaluable.  Yet  in 
few  rooms  are  the  windows  easy  of  approach,  free  from  useless 
draperies  and  provided  with  easy-chairs  so  placed  that  the  light 
falls  properly  on  the  occupant's  work. 

It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  many  houses  are  deserted  by 
the  men  of  the  family  for  lack  of  those  simple  comforts  which 
they  find  at  their  clubs:  windows  unobscured  by  layers  of  mus- 
lin, a  fireplace  surrounded  by  easy-chairs  and  protected  from 
draughts,  well-appointed  writing-tables  and  files  of  papers  and 
magazines.  Who  cannot  call  to  mind  the  dreary  drawing-room, 
in  small  town  houses  the  only  possible  point  of  reunion  for  the 
family,  but  too  often,  in  consequence  of  its  exquisite  discomfort, 
of  no  more  use  as  a  meeting-place  than  the  vestibule  or  the  cellar? 
The  windows  in  this  kind  of  room  are  invariably  supplied  with 
two  sets  of  muslin  curtains,  one  hanging  against  the  panes,  the 
other  fulfilling  the  supererogatory  duty  of  hanging  against  the 
former;  then  come  the  heavy  stuff  curtains,  so  draped  as  to  cut 
off  the  upper  light  of  the  windows  by  day,  while  it  is  impossible 
to  drop  them  at  night:  curtains  that  have  thus  ceased  to  serve 
the  purpose  for  which  they  exist     Close  to  the  curtains  stands 

1  There  is  no  objection  to  putting  a  fireplace  between  two  doors,  provided  both 
doors  be  at  least  six  feet  from  the  chimney. 


PLATE  yU. 


FRENCH  BERGERE,  LOUIS  XVI  PERIOD. 


Rooms  in  General  21 

the  inevitable  lamp  or  jardiniere,  and  the  wall-space  between  the 
two  windows,  where  a  writing-table  might  be  put,  is  generally 
taken  up  by  a  cabinet  or  console,  surmounted  by  a  picture  made 
invisible  by  the  dark  shadow  of  the  hangings.  The  writing-table 
might  find  place  against  the  side-wall  near  either  window  ;  but 
these  spaces  are  usually  sacred  to  the  piano  and  to  that  modern 
futility,  the  silver-table.  Thus  of  necessity  the  writing-table  is 
either  banished  or  put  in  some  dark  corner,  where  it  is  little 
wonder  that  the  ink  dries  unused  and  a  vase  of  flowers  grows 
in  the  middle  of  the  blotting-pad. 

The  hearth  should  be  the  place  about  which  people  gather;  but 
the  mantelpiece  in  the  average  American  house,  being  ugly,  is 
usually  covered  with  inflammable  draperies;  the  fire  is,  in  conse- 
quence, rarely  lit,  and  no  one  cares  to  sit  about  a  fireless  hearth. 
Besides,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room  is  a  gap  in  the  wall 
eight  or  ten  feet  wide,  opening  directly  upon  the  hall,  and  expos- 
ing what  should  be  the  most  private  part  of  the  room  to  the 
scrutiny  of  messengers,  servants  and  visitors.  This  opening  is 
sometimes  provided  with  doors;  but  these,  as  a  rule,  are  either 
slid  into  the  wall  or  are  unhung  and  replaced  by  a  curtain 
through  which  every  word  spoken  in  the  room  must  necessarily 
pass.  In  such  a  room  it  matters  very  little  how  the  rest  of  the 
furniture  is  arranged,  since  it  is  certain  that  no  one  will  ever  sit  in 
it  except  the  luckless  visitor  who  has  no  other  refuge. 

Even  the  visitor  might  be  thought  entitled  to  the  solace  of  a 
few  books;  but  as  all  the  tables  in  the  room  are  littered  with 
knick-knacks,  it  is  difficult  for  the  most  philanthropic  hostess  to 
provide  even  this  slight  alleviation. 

When  the  town-house  is  built  on  the  basement  plan,  and 
the  drawing-room  or  parlor  is  up-stairs,  the  family,  to  escape 


22  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

from  its  discomforts,  habitually  take  refuge  in  the  small  room 
opening  off  the  hall  on  the  ground  floor;  so  that  instead  of  sitting 
in  a  room  twenty  or  twenty-five  feet  wide,  they  are  packed  into 
one  less  than  half  that  size  and  exposed  to  the  frequent  intrusions 
from  which,  in  basement  houses,  the  drawing-room  is  free.  But 
too  often  even  the  "little  room  down-stairs"  is  arranged  less  like 
a  sitting-room  in  a  private  house  than  a  waiting-room  at  a  fash- 
ionable doctor's  or  dentist's.  It  has  the  inevitable  yawning  gap 
in  the  wall,  giving  on  the  hall  close  to  the  front  door,  and  is 
either  the  refuge  of  the  ugliest  and  most  uncomfortable  furniture 
in  the  house,  or,  even  if  furnished  with  taste,  is  arranged  with  so 
little  regard  to  comfort  that  one  might  as  well  make  it  part  of  the 
hall,  as  is  often  done  in  rearranging  old  houses.  This  habit  of 
sacrificing  a  useful  room  to  the  useless  widening  of  the  hall  is 
indeed  the  natural  outcome  of  furnishing  rooms  of  this  kind  in  so 
unpractical  a  way  that  their  real  usefulness  has  ceased  to  be 
apparent.  The  science  of  restoring  wasted  rooms  to  their  proper 
uses  is  one  of  the  most  important  and  least  understood  branches 
of  house-furnishing. 

Privacy  would  seem  to  be  one  of  the  first  requisites  of  civilized 
life,  yet  it  is  only  necessary  to  observe  the  planning  and  arrange- 
ment of  the  average  house  to  see  how  little  this  need  is  recog- 
nized. Each  room  in  a  house  has  its  individual  uses:  some  are 
made  to  sleep  in,  others  are  for  dressing,  eating,  study,  or  con- 
versation ;  but  whatever  the  uses  of  a  room,  they  are  seriously 
interfered  with  if  it  be  not  preserved  as  a  small  world  by  itself. 
If  the  drawing-room  be  a  part  of  the  hall  and  the  library  a  part 
of  the  drawing-room,  all  three  will  be  equally  unfitted  to  serve 
their  special  purpose.  The  indifference  to  privacy  which  has 
sprung  up  in  modern  times,  and  which  in  France,  for  instance, 


Rooms  in  General  23 

has  given  rise  to  the  grotesque  conceit  of  putting  sheets  of  plate- 
glass  between  two  rooms,  and  of  replacing  doorways  by  openings 
fifteen  feet  wide,  is  of  complex  origin.  It  is  probably  due  in  part 
to  the  fact  that  many  houses  are  built  and  decorated  by  people 
unfamiliar  with  the  habits  of  those  for  whom  they  are  building. 
It  may  be  that  architect  and  decorator  live  in  a  simpler  manner 
than  their  clients,  and  are  therefore  ready  to  sacrifice  a  kind  of 
comfort  of  which  they  do  not  feel  the  need  to  the  "effects"  ob- 
tainable by  vast  openings  and  extended  "vistas."  To  the  un- 
trained observer  size  often  appeals  more  than  proportion  and 
costliness  than  suitability.  In  a  handsome  house  such  an  ob- 
server is  attracted  rather  by  the  ornamental  detail  than  by  the 
underlying  purpose  of  planning  and  decoration.  He  sees  the 
beauty  of  the  detail,  but  not  its  relation  to  the  whole.  He  there- 
fore regards  it  as  elegant  but  useless ;  and  his  next  step  is  to  infer 
that  there  is  an  inherent  elegance  in  what  is  useless. 

Before  beginning  to  decorate  a  house  it  is  necessary  to  make  a 
prolonged  and  careful  study  of  its  plan  and  elevations,  both  as 
a  whole  and  in  detail.  The  component  parts  of  an  undecorated 
room  are  its  floor,  ceiling,  wall-spaces  and  openings.  The  open- 
ings consist  of  the  doors,  windows  and  fireplace  ;  and  of  these, 
as  has  already  been  pointed  out,  the  fireplace  is  the  most  im- 
portant in  the  general  scheme  of  decoration. 

No  room  can  be  satisfactory  unless  its  openings  are  properly 
placed  and  proportioned,  and  the  decorator's  task  is  much  easier 
if  he  has  also  been  the  architect  of  the  house  he  is  employed  to 
decorate  ;  but  as  this  seldom  happens  his  ingenuity  is  frequently 
taxed  to  produce  a  good  design  upon  the  background  of  a  faulty 
and  illogical  structure.  Much  may  be  done  to  overcome  this 
difficulty  by  making   slight  changes  in  the  proportions  of  the 


24  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

openings;  and  the  skilful  decorator,  before  applying  his  scheme 
of  decoration,  will  do  all  that  he  can  to  correct  the  fundamental 
lines  of  the  room.  But  the  result  is  seldom  so  successful  as  if 
he  had  built  the  room,  and  those  who  employ  different  people  to 
build  and  decorate  their  houses  should  at  least  try  to  select  an 
architect  and  a  decorator  trained  in  the  same  school  of  composi- 
tion, so  that  they  may  come  to  some  understanding  with  regard 
to  the  general  harmony  of  their  work. 

In  deciding  upon  a  scheme  of  decoration,  it  is  necessary  to  keep 
in  mind  the  relation  of  furniture  to  ornament,  and  of  the  room 
as  a  whole  to  other  rooms  in  the  house.  As  in  a  small  house 
a  very  large  room  dwarfs  all  the  others,  so  a  room  decorated 
in  a  very  rich  manner  will  make  the  simplicity  of  those  about 
it  look  mean.  Every  house  should  be  decorated  according  to  a 
carefully  graduated  scale  of  ornamentation  culminating  in  the 
most  important  room  of  the  house  ;  but  this  plan  must  be  carried 
out  with  such  due  sense  of  the  relation  of  the  rooms  to  each 
other  that  there  shall  be  no  violent  break  in  the  continuity  of 
treatment.  If  a  white-and-gold  drawing-room  opens  on  a  hall 
with  a  Brussels  carpet  and  papered  walls,  the  drawing-room  will 
look  too  fine  and  the  hall  mean. 

In  the  furnishing  of  each  room  the  same  rule  should  be  as 
carefully  observed.  The  simplest  and  most  cheaply  furnished 
room  (provided  the  furniture  be  good  of  its  kind,  and  the  walls  and 
carpet  unobjectionable  in  color)  will  be  more  pleasing  to  the  fasti- 
dious eye  than  one  in  which  gilded  consoles  and  cabinets  of  buhl 
stand  side  by  side  with  cheap  machine-made  furniture,  and  deli- 
cate old  marquetry  tables  are  covered  with  trashy  china  ornaments. 

It  is,  of  course,  not  always  possible  to  refurnish  a  room  when 
it  is  redecorated.     Many  people  must  content  themselves  with 


PLATE  yill. 


FRENCH  BERGERE,  LOUIS  XVI  PERIOD. 


Rooms  in  General  25 

using  their  old  furniture,  no  matter  how  ugly  and  ill-assorted  it 
may  be;  and  it  is  the  decorator's  business  to  see  that  his  back- 
ground helps  the  furniture  to  look  its  best.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
think  that  because  the  furniture  of  a  room  is  inappropriate  or  ugly 
a  good  background  will  bring  out  these  defects.  It  will,  on  the 
contrary,  be  a  relief  to  the  eye  to  escape  from  the  bad  lines  of  the 
furniture  to  the  good  lines  of  the  walls  ;  and  should  the  oppor- 
tunity to  purchase  new  furniture  ever  come,  there  will  be  a 
suitable  background  ready  to  'show  it  to  the  best  advantage. 

Most  rooms  contain  a  mixture  of  good,  bad,  and  indiflTerent  fur- 
niture. It  is  best  to  adapt  the  decorative  treatment  to  the  best 
pieces  and  to  discard  those  which  are  in  bad  taste,  replacing 
them,  if  necessary,  by  willow  chairs  and  stained  deal  tables  until  it 
is  possible  to  buy  something  better.  When  the  room  is  to  be 
refurnished  as  well  as  redecorated  the  client  often  makes  his  pur- 
chases without  regard  to  the  decoration.  Besides  being  an  injus- 
tice to  the  decorator,  inasmuch  as  it  makes  it  impossible  for  him 
to  harmonize  his  decoration  with  the  furniture,  this  generally  pro- 
duces a  result  unsatisfactory  to  the  owner  of  the  house.  Neither 
decoration  nor  furniture,  however  good  of  its  kind,  can  look  its 
best  unless  each  is  chosen  with  reference  to  the  other.  It  is  there- 
fore necessary  that  the  decorator,  before  planning  his  treatment  of 
a  room,  should  be  told  what  it  is  to  contain.  If  a  gilt  set  is  put  in 
a  room  the  walls  of  which  are  treated  in  low  relief  and  painted 
white,  the  high  lights  of  the  gilding  will  destroy  the  delicate  values 
of  the  mouldings,  and  the  walls,  at  a  little  distance,  will  look  like 
flat  expanses  of  whitewashed  plaster. 

When  a  room  is  to  be  furnished  and  decorated  at  the  smallest 
possible  cost,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  comfort  of  its  occu- 
pants depends  more  on  the  nature  of  the  furniture  than  of  the 


26  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

wall-decorations  or  carpet.  In  a  living-room  of  this  kind  it  is  best 
to  tint  the  walls  and  put  a  cheerful  drugget  on  the  floor,  keeping 
as  much  money  as  possible  for  the  purchase  of  comfortable  chairs 
and  sofas  and  substantial  tables.  If  little  can  be  spent  in  buying 
furniture,  willow  arm-chairs^  with  denim  cushions  and  solid 
tables  with  stained  legs  and  covers  of  denim  or  corduroy  will  be 
more  satisfactory  than  the  "parlor  suit"  turned  out  in  thousands 
by  the  manufacturer  of  cheap  furniture,  or  the  pseudo-Georgian 
or  pseudo-Empire  of  the  dealer  in  "high-grade  goods."  Plain 
bookcases  may  be  made  of  deal,  painted  or  stained ;  and  a  room 
treated  in  this  way,  with  a  uniform  color  on  the  wall,  and  plenty 
of  lamps  and  books,  is  sure  to  be  comfortable  and  can  never 
be  vulgar. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that,  in  this  country  and  in  England,  it 
should  be  almost  impossible  to  buy  plain  but  well-designed  and 
substantial  furniture.  Nothing  can  exceed  the  ugliness  of  the 
current  designs :  the  bedsteads  with  towering  head-boards  fretted 
by  the  versatile  jig-saw;  the  "bedroom  suits"  of  "mahoganized" 
cherry,  bird's-eye  maple,  or  some  other  crude-colored  wood ;  the 
tables  with  meaninglessly  turned  legs;  the  "Empire"  chairs  and 
consoles  stuck  over  with  ornaments  of  cast  bronze  washed  in 
liquid  gilding;  and,  worst  of  all,  the  supposed  "Colonial"  fur- 
niture, that  unworthy  travesty  of  a  plain  and  dignified  style.  All 
this  showy  stuff  has  been  produced  in  answer  to  the  increasing 
demand  for  cheap  "effects"  in  place  of  unobtrusive  merit  in 
material  and  design ;  but  now  that  an  appreciation  of  better  things 
in  architecture  is  becoming  more  general,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
the  "artistic"  furniture  disfiguring  so  many  of  our  shop-windows 
will  no  longer  find  a  market. 

1  Not  rattan,  as  the  models  are  too  bad. 


Rooms  in  General  27 

There  is  no  lack  of  models  for  manufacturers  to  copy,  if  their 
customers  will  but  demand  what  is  good.  France  and  England, 
in  the  eighteenth  century,  excelled  in  the  making  of  plain,  inex- 
pensive furniture  of  walnut,  mahogany,  or  painted  beechwood 
(see  Plates  Vll-X).  Simple  in  shape  and  substantial  in  construc- 
tion, this  kind  of  furniture  was  never  tricked  out  with  moulded 
bronzes  and  machine-made  carving,  or  covered  with  liquid  gild- 
ing, but  depended  for  its  effect  upon  the  solid  qualities  of  good 
material,  good  design  and  good  workmanship.  The  eighteenth- 
century  cabinet-maker  did  not  attempt  cheap  copies  of  costly 
furniture;  the  common  sense  of  his  patrons  would  have  resented 
such  a  perversion  of  taste.  Were  the  modern  public  as  fastidious, 
it  would  soon  be  easy  to  buy  good  furniture  for  a  moderate  price; 
but  until  people  recognize  the  essential  vulgarity  of  the  pinchbeck 
article  flooding  our  shops  and  overflowing  upon  our  sidewalks, 
manufacturers  will  continue  to  offer  such  wares  in  preference  to 
better  but  less  showy  designs. 

The  worst  defects  of  the  furniture  now  made  in  America 
are  due  to  an  Athenian  thirst  for  novelty,  not  always  regulated 
by  an  Athenian  sense  of  fitness.  No  sooner  is  it  known  that 
beautiful  furniture  was  made  in  the  time  of  Marie-Antoinette 
than  an  epidemic  of  supposed  "Marie-Antoinette"  rooms  breaks 
out  over  the  whole  country.  Neither  purchaser  nor  manufacturer 
has  stopped  to  inquire  wherein  the  essentials  of  the  style  consist. 
They  know  that  the  rooms  of  the  period  were  usually  painted  in 
light  colors,  and  that  the  furniture  (in  palaces)  was  often  gilt  and 
covered  with  brocade;  and  it  is  taken  for  granted  that  plenty  of 
white  paint,  a  pale  wall-paper  with  bow-knots,  and  fragile 
chairs  dipped  in  liquid  gilding  and  covered  with  a  flowered  silk- 
and-cotton    material,    must    inevitably    produce    a    "  Marie-An- 


28  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

toinette"  room.  According  to  the  creed  of  the  modem  manu- 
facturer, you  have  only  to  combine  certain  "goods"  to  obtain 
a  certain  style. 

This  quest  of  artistic  novelties  would  be  encouraging  were  it 
based  on  the  desire  for  something  better,  rather  than  for  something 
merely  different.  The  tendency  to  dash  from  one  style  to  an- 
other, without  stopping  to  analyze  the  intrinsic  qualities  of  any, 
has  defeated  the  efforts  of  those  who  have  tried  to  teach  the  true 
principles  of  furniture-designing  by  a  return  to  the  best  models. 
If  people  will  buy  the  stuff  now  offered  them  as  Empire,  Sheraton 
or  Louis  XVI,  the  manufacturer  is  not  to  blame  for  making  it. 
It  is  not  the  maker  but  the  purchaser  who  sets  the  standard ;  and 
there  will  never  be  any  general  supply  of  better  furniture  until 
people  take  time  to  study  the  subject,  and  find  out  wherein  lies 
the  radical  unfitness  of  what  now  contents  them. 

Until  this  golden  age  arrives  the  householder  who  cannot  afford 
to  buy  old  pieces,  or  to  have  old  models  copied  by  a  skilled 
cabinet-maker,  had  better  restrict  himself  to  the  plainest  of  fur- 
niture, relying  for  the  embellishment  of  his  room  upon  good 
bookbindings  and  one  or  two  old  porcelain  vases  for  his  lamps. 

Concerning  the  difficult  question  of  color,  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
the  fewer  the  colors  used  in  a  room,  the  more  pleasing  and  restful 
the  result  will  be.  A  multiplicity  of  colors  produces  the  same 
effect  as  a  number  of  voices  talking  at  the  same  time.  The  voices 
may  not  be  discordant,  but  continuous  chatter  is  fatiguing  in  the 
long  run.  Each  room  should  speak  with  but  one  voice  :  it  should 
contain  one  color,  which  at  once  and  unmistakably  asserts  its 
predominance,  in  obedience  to  the  rule  that  where  there  is  a 
division  of  parts  one  part  shall  visibly  prevail  over  all  the  others. 

To  attain  this  result,  it  is  best  to  use  the  same  color  and,  if 


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Rooms  in  General  29 

possible,  the  same  material,  for  curtains  and  chair-coverings.  This 
produces  an  impression  of  unity  and  gives  an  air  of  spaciousness 
to  the  room.  When  the  walls  are  simply  panelled  in  oak  or  wal- 
nut, or  are  painted  in  some  neutral  tones,  such  as  gray  and  white, 
the  carpet  may  contrast  in  color  with  the  curtains  and  chair-cov- 
erings. For  instance,  in  an  oak-panelled  room  crimson  curtains 
and  chair-coverings  may  be  used  with  a  dull  green  carpet,  or  with 
one  of  dark  blue  patterned  in  subdued  tints;  or  the  color-scheme 
may  be  reversed,  and  green  hangings  and  chair-coverings  com- 
bined with  a  plain  crimson  carpet. 

Where  the  walls  are  covered  with  tapestry,  or  hung  with  a  large 
number  of  pictures,  or,  in  short,  are  so  treated  that  they  present 
a  variety  of  colors,  it  is  best  that  curtains,  chair-coverings  and 
carpet  should  all  be  of  one  color  and  without  pattern.  Gradu- 
ated shades  Oi  the  same  color  should  almost  always  be  avoided ; 
theoretically  they  seem  harmonious,  but  in  reality  the  light  shades 
look  faded  in  proximity  with  the  darker  ones.  Though  it  is  well, 
as  a  rule,  that  carpet  and  hangings  should  match,  exception  must 
always  be  made  in  favor  of  a  really  fine  old  Eastern  rug.  The 
tints  of  such  rugs  are  too  subdued,  too  subtly  harmonized  by  time, 
to  clash  with  any  colors  the  room  may  contain;  but  those  who 
cannot  cover  their  floors  in  this  way  will  do  well  to  use  carpets 
of  uniform  tint,  rather  than  the  gaudy  rugs  now  made  in  the  East. 
The  modern  red  and  green  Smyrna  or  Turkey  carpet  is  an  excep- 
tion. Where  the  furniture  is  dark  and  substantial,  and  the  pre- 
dominating color  is  a  strong  green  or  crimson,  such  a  carpet  is 
always  suitable.  These  Smyrna  carpets  are  usually  well  designed ; 
and  if  their  colors  be  restricted  to  red  and  green,  with  small  ad- 
mixture of  dark  blue,  they  harmonize  with  almost  any  style  of 
decoration.     It  is  well,  as  a  rule,  to  shun  the  decorative  schemes 


30  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

concocted  by  the  writers  who  supply  our  newspapers  with  hints 
for  "artistic  interiors."  The  use  of  such  poetic  adjectives  as  jon- 
quil-yellow, willow-green,  shell-pink,  or  ashes-of-roses,  gives  to 
these  descriptions  of  the  "unique  boudoir"  or  "ideal  summer 
room  "  a  charm  which  the  reality  would  probably  not  possess. 
The  arrangements  suggested  are  usually  cheap  devices  based 
upon  the  mistaken  idea  that  defects  in  structure  or  design  may  be 
remedied  by  an  overlaying  of  color  or  ornament.  This  theory 
often  leads  to  the  spending  of  much  more  money  than  would 
have  been  required  to  make  one  or  two  changes  in  the  plan  of 
the  room,  and  the  result  is  never  satisfactory  to  the  fastidious. 

There  are  but  two  ways  of  dealing  with  a  room  which  is  fun- 
damentally ugly:  one  is  to  accept  it,  and  the  other  is  coura- 
geously to  correct  its  ugliness.  Half-way  remedies  are  a  waste 
of  money  and  serve  rather  to  call  attention  to  the  defects  of  the 
room  than  to  conceal  them. 


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Ill 

WALLS 

PROPORTION  is  the  good  breeding  of  architecture.  It  is 
that  something,  indefinable  to  the  unprofessional  eye,  which 
gives  repose  and  distinction  to  a  room :  in  its  origin  a  matter  of 
nice  mathematical  calculation,  of  scientific  adjustment  of  voids 
and  masses,  but  in  its  effects  as  intangible  as  that  all-pervading 
essence  which  the  ancients  called  the  soul. 

It  is  not  proposed  to  enter  here  into  a  technical  discussion  of 
the  delicate  problem  of  proportion.  The  decorator,  with  whom 
this  book  is  chiefly  concerned,  is  generally  not  consulted  until 
the  house  that  he  is  to  decorate  has  been  built — and  built,  in  all 
probability,  quite  without  reference  to  the  interior  treatment  it  is 
destined  to  receive.  All  he  can  hope  to  do  is,  by  slight  modifica- 
tions here  and  there  in  the  dimensions  or  position  of  the  open- 
ings, to  re-establish  that  harmony  of  parts  so  frequently  disre- 
garded in  modern  house-planning.  It  often  happens,  however, 
that  the  decorator's  desire  to  make  these  slight  changes,  upon 
which  the  success  of  his  whole  scheme  depends,  is  a  source 
of  perplexity  and  distress  to  his  bewildered  client,  who  sees  in  it 
merely  the  inclination  to  find  fault  with  another's  work.  Nothlug 
can  be  more  natural  than  this  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  client. 
How  is  he  to  decide  between  the  architect,  who  has  possibly  dis- 

3> 


32  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

regarded  in  some  measure  the  claims  of  symmetry  and  proportion 
in  planning  the  interior  of  the  house,  and  the  decorator  who  in- 
sists upon  those  claims  without  being  able  to  justify  his  demands 
by  any  explanation  comprehensible  to  the  unprofessional  ?  It  is 
inevitable  that  the  decorator,  who  comes  last,  should  fare  worse, 
especially  as  he  makes  his  appearance  at  a  time  when  contractors' 
bills  are  pouring  in,  and  the  proposition  to  move  a  mantelpiece 
or  change  the  dimensions  of  a  door  opens  fresh  vistas  of  expense 
to  the  client's  terrified  imagination. 

Undoubtedly  these  difficulties  have  diminished  in  the  last  few 
years.  Architects  are  turning  anew  to  the  lost  tradition  of  sym- 
metry and  to  a  scientific  study  of  the  relation  between  voids  and 
masses,  and  the  decorator's  task  has  become  correspondingly 
easier.  Still,  there  are  many  cases  where  his  work  is  complicated 
by  some  trifling  obstacle,  the  removal  of  which  the  client  opposes 
only  because  he  cannot  in  imagination  foresee  the  improvement 
which  would  follow.  If  the  client  permits  the  change  to  be  made, 
he  has  no  difficulty  in  appreciating  the  result:  he  cannot  see  it  in 
advance. 

A  few  words  from  Isaac  Ware's  admirable  chapter  on  "The 
Origin  of  Proportions  in  the  Orders  "  ^  may  serve  to  show  the  im- 
portance of  proportion  in  all  schemes  of  decoration,  and  the  neces- 
sity of  conforming  to  certain  rules  that  may  at  first  appear  both 
arbitrary  and  incomprehensible. 

"An  architect  of  genius,"  Ware  writes  (alluding  to  the  latitude 
which  the  ancients  allowed  themselves  in  using  the  orders),  "will 
think  himself  happy,  in  designing  a  building  that  is  to  be  enriched 
with  the  Doric  order,  that  he  has  all  the  latitude  between  two  and 
a  half  and  seventeen  for  the  projecture  of  its  capital ;  that  he  can 

1  v4  Compute  Body  of  Jlrcbite^ure,  Book  II,  chap.  iii. 


Walls 


33 


proportion  this  projecture  to  the  general  idea  of  his  building  any- 
where between  these  extremes  and  show  his  authority.  This  is 
an  happiness  to  the  person  of  real  genius;  .  .  .  but  as  all  archi- 
tects are  not,  nor  can  be  expected  to  be,  of  this  stamp,  it  is  needful 
some  standard  should  be  established,  founded  upon  what  a  good 
taste  shall  most  admire  in  the  antique,  and  fixed  as  a  model  from 
which  to  work,  or  as  a  test  to  which  we  may  have  recourse  in 
disputes  and  controversies." 

If  to  these  words  be  added  his  happy  definition  of  the  sense  of 
proportion  as  "fancy  under  the  restraint  and  conduct  of  judg- 
ment," and  his  closing  caution  that  "it  is  mean  in  the  undertaker 
of  a  great  work  to  copy  strictly,  and  it  is  dangerous  to  give  a 
loose  to  fancy  without  a  perfect  knowledge  bow  far  a  variation 
may  be  justified,"  the  unprofessional  reader  may  form  some  idea 
of  the  importance  of  proportion  and  of  the  necessity  for  observing 
its  rules. 

If  proportion  is  the  good  breeding  of  architecture,  symmetry, 
or  the  answering  of  one  part  to  another,  may  be  defined  as  the 
sanity  of  decoration.  The  desire  for  symmetry,  for  balance,  for 
rhythm  in  form  as  well  as  in  sound,  is  one  of  the  most  inveterate 
of  human  instincts.  Yet  for  years  Anglo-Saxons  have  been  taught 
that  to  pay  any  regard  to  symmetry  in  architecture  or  decoration 
is  to  truckle  to  one  of  the  meanest  forms  of  artistic  hypocrisy. 
The  master  who  has  taught  this  strange  creed,  in  words  magical 
enough  to  win  acceptance  for  any  doctrine,  has  also  revealed  to 
his  generation  so  many  of  the  forgotten  beauties  of  early  art  that 
it  is  hard  to  dispute  his  principles  of  sesthetics.  As  a  guide 
through  the  byways  of  art,  Mr.  Ruskin  is  entitled  to  the  reverence 
and  gratitude  of  all;  but  as  a  logical  exponent  of  the  causes  and 
effects  of  the  beauty  he  discovers,  his  authority  is  certainly  open 


34  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

to  question.  For  years  he  has  spent  the  full  force  of  his  un- 
matched prose  in  denouncing  the  enormity  of  putting  a  door  or 
a  window  in  a  certain  place  in  order  that  it  may  correspond  to  an- 
other ;  nor  has  he  scrupled  to  declare  to  the  victims  of  this  prac- 
tice that  it  leads  to  abysses  of  moral  as  well  as  of  artistic 
degradation. 

Time  has  taken  the  terror  from  these  threats  and  architects  are 
beginning  to  see  that  a  regard  for  external  symmetry,  far  from 
interfering  with  the  requirements  of  house-planning,  tends  to 
produce  a  better,  because  a  more  carefully  studied,  plan,  as  well 
as  a  more  convenient  distribution  of  wall-space;  but  in  the  lay 
mind  there  still  lingers  not  only  a  vague  association  between  out- 
ward symmetry  and  interior  discomfort,  between  a  well-balanced 
fa9ade  and  badly  distributed  rooms,  but  a  still  vaguer  notion  that 
regard  for  symmetry  indicates  poverty  of  invention,  lack  of  in- 
genuity and  weak  subservience  to  a  meaningless  form. 

What  the  instinct  for  symmetry  means,  philosophers  may  be 
left  to  explain;  but  that  it  does  exist,  that  it  means  something, 
and  that  it  is  most  strongly  developed  in  those  races  which  have 
reached  the  highest  artistic  civilization,  must  be  acknowledged  by 
all  students  of  sociology.  It  is,  therefore,  not  superfluous  to  point 
out  that,  in  interior  decoration  as  well  as  in  architecture,  a  regard 
for  symmetry,  besides  satisfying  a  legitimate  artistic  requirement, 
tends  to  make  the  average  room  not  only  easier  to  furnish,  but 
more  comfortable  to  live  in. 

As  the  effect  produced  by  a  room  depends  chiefly  upon  the 
distribution  of  its  openings,  it  will  be  well  to  begin  by  consider- 
ing the  treatment  of  the  walls.  It  has  already  been  said  that  the 
decorator  can  often  improve  a  room,  not  only  from  the  artistic 
point  of  view,  but  as  regards  the  comfort  of  its  inmates,  by 


Walls  35 

making  some  slight  change  in  the  position  of  its  openings.  Take, 
for  instance,  a  library  in  which  it  is  necessary  to  put  the  two 
principal  bookcases  one  on  each  side  of  a  door  or  fireplace.  If  this 
opening  is  in  the  centre  of  one  side  of  the  room,  the  wall-decorations 
may  be  made  to  balance,  and  the  bookcases  may  be  of  the  same 
width, —  an  arrangement  which  will  give  to  the  room  an  air  of 
spaciousness  and  repose.  Should  the  wall-spaces  on  either  side 
of  the  opening  be  of  unequal  extent,  both  decorations  and  book- 
cases must  be  modified  in  size  and  design;  and  not  only  does 
the  problem  become  more  difficult,  but  the  result,  because  neces- 
sarily less  simple,  is  certain  to  be  less  satisfactory.  Sometimes, 
on  the  other  hand,  convenience  is  sacrificed  to  symmetry ;  and  in 
such  cases  it  is  the  decorator's  business  to  remedy  this  defect, 
while  preserving  to  the  eye  the  aspect  of  symmetry.  A  long 
narrow  room  may  be  taken  as  an  example.  If  the  fireplace  is  in 
the  centre  of  one  of  the  long  sides  of  the  room,  with  a  door  di- 
rectly opposite,  the  hearth  will  be  without  privacy  and  the  room 
virtually  divided  into  two  parts,  since,  in  a  narrow  room,  no  one 
cares  to  sit  in  a  line  with  the  doorway.  This  division  of  the  room 
makes  it  more  difficult  to  furnish  and  less  comfortable  to  live  in, 
besides  wasting  all  the  floor-space  between  the  chimney  and  the 
door.  One  way  of  overcoming  the  difficulty  is  to  move  the  door 
some  distance  down  the  long  side  of  the  room,  so  that  the  space 
about  the  fireplace  is  no  longer  a  thoroughfare,  and  the  privacy  of 
the  greater  part  of  the  room  is  preserved,  even  if  the  door  be  left 
open.  The  removal  of  the  door  from  the  centre  of  one  side  of  the 
room  having  disturbed  the  equilibrium  of  the  openings,  this  equi- 
librium may  be  restored  by  placing  in  a  line  with  the  door,  at  the 
other  end  of  the  same  side-wall,  a  piece  of  furniture  correspond- 
ing as  nearly  as  possible  in  height  and  width  to  the  door.     This 


36  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

will  satisfy  the  eye,  which  in  matters  of  symmetry  demands,  not 
absolute  similarity  of  detail,  but  merely  correspondence  of  outline 
and  dimensions. 

It  is  idle  to  multiply  examples  of  the  various  ways  in  which 
such  readjustments  of  the  openings  may  increase  the  comfort  and 
beauty  of  a  room.  Every  problem  in  house  decoration  demands  a 
slightly  different  application  of  the  same  general  principles,  and 
the  foregoing  instances  are  intended  only  to  show  how  much 
depends  upon  the  placing  of  openings  and  how  reasonable  is  the 
decorator's  claim  to  have  a  share  in  planning  the  background 
upon  which  his  effects  are  to  be  produced. 

It  may  surprise  those  whose  attention  has  not  been  turned  to 
such  matters  to  be  told  that  in  all  but  the  most  cheaply  con- 
structed houses  the  interior  walls  are  invariably  treated  as  an 
order.  In  all  houses,  even  of  the  poorest  kind,  the  walls  of  the 
rooms  are  finished  by  a  plain  projecting  board  adjoining  the 
floor,  surmounted  by  one  or  more  mouldings.  This  base,  as  it  is 
called,  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  part  of  an  order  between 
shaft  and  floor,  or  shaft  and  pedestal,  as  the  case  may  be.  If  it 
be  next  remarked  that  the  upper  part  of  the  wall,  adjoining  the 
ceiling,  is  invariably  finished  by  a  moulded  projection  correspond- 
ing with  the  crowning  member  of  an  order,  it  will  be  clear 
that  the  shaft,  with  its  capital,  has  simply  been  omitted,  or  that 
the  uniform  wall-space  between  the  base  and  cornice  has  been 
regarded  as  replacing  it.  In  rooms  of  a  certain  height  and  im- 
portance the  column  or  pilaster  is  frequently  restored  to  its  proper 
place  between  base  and  cornice;  but  where  such  treatment  is 
too  monumental  for  the  dimensions  of  the  room,  the  main  lines  of 
the  wall-space  should  none  the  less  be  regarded  as  distinctly 
architectural,  and  the  decoration  applied  should  be  subordinate  to 


Walls  37 

the  implied  existence  of  an  order.  (For  the  application  of  an 
order  to  walls,  see  Plates  XLII  and  L.) 

Where  the  shafts  are  omitted,  the  eye  undoubtedly  feels  a  lack 
of  continuity  in  the  treatment:  the  cornice  seems  to  hang  in  air 
and  the  effect  produced  is  unsatisfactory.  This  is  obviated  by 
the  use  of  panelling,  the  vertical  lines  carried  up  at  intervals  from 
base  to  cornice  satisfying  the  need  for  some  visible  connection  be- 
tween the  upper  and  lower  members  of  the  order.  Moreover,  if 
the  lines  of  the  openings  are  carried  up  to  the  cornice  (as  they  are 
in  all  well-designed  schemes  of  decoration),  the  openings  may  be 
considered  as  intercolumniations  and  the  intermediate  wall- 
spaces  as  the  shafts  or  piers  supporting  the  cornice. 

In  well-finished  rooms  the  order  is  usually  imagined  as  resting, 
not  on  the  floor,  but  on  pedestals,  or  rather  on  a  continuous 
pedestal.  This  continuous  pedestal,  or  "dado"  as  it  is  usually 
called,  is  represented  by  a  plinth  surmounted  by  mouldings,  by 
an  intermediate  member  often  decorated  with  tablets  or  sunk 
panels  with  moulded  margins,  and  by  a  cornice.  The  use  of 
the  dado  raises  the  chief  wall-decoration  of  the  room  to  a  level 
with  the  eye  and  prevents  its  being  interrupted  or  concealed  by 
the  furniture  which  may  be  placed  against  the  walls.  This  fact 
makes  it  clear  that  in  all  well-designed  rooms  there  should  be 
a  dado  about  two  and  a  half  feet  high.  If  lower  than  this,  it 
does  not  serve  its  purpose  of  raising  the  wall-decoration  to  a 
line  above  the  furniture  ;  while  the  high  dado  often  seen  in 
modern  American  rooms  throws  all  the  rest  of  the  panelling 
out  of  scale  and  loses  its  own  significance  as  the  pedestal  sup- 
porting an  order. 

In  rooms  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  when  little 
furniture  was  used,  the  dado  was  often  richly  ornamented,  being 


38  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

sometimes  painted  with  delicate  arabesques  corresponding  with 
those  on  the  doors  and  inside  shutters.  As  rooms  grew  smaller 
and  the  quantity  of  furniture  increased  so  much  that  the  dado 
was  almost  concealed,  the  treatment  of  the  latter  was  wisely 
simplified,  being  reduced,  as  a  rule,  to  sunk  panels  and  a  few 
strongly  marked  mouldings.  The  decorator  cannot  do  better 
than  plan  the  ornamentation  of  his  dado  according  to  the  amount 
of  furniture  to  be  placed  against  the  walls.  In  corridor  or  ante- 
chamber, or  in  a  ball-room,  the  dado  may  receive  a  more  elaborate 
treatment  than  is  necessary  in  a  library  or  drawing-room,  where 
probably  much  less  of  it  will  be  seen.  It  was  not  unusual,  in 
the  decoration  of  lobbies  and  corridors  in  old  French  and  Italian 
houses,  to  omit  the  dado  entirely  if  an  order  was  used,  thus  bring- 
ing the  wall-decoration  down  to  the  base-board;  but  this  was 
done  only  in  rooms  or  passage-ways  not  meant  to  contain  any 
furniture. 

The  three  noblest  forms  of  wall-decoration  are  fresco-paint- 
ing, panelling,  and  tapestry  hangings.  In  the  best  period  of 
decoration  all  three  were  regarded  as  subordinate  to  the  archi- 
tectural lines  of  the  room.  The  Italian  fresco-painters,  from 
Giotto  to  Tiepolo,  never  lost  sight  of  the  interrelation  between 
painting  and  architecture.  It  matters  not  if  the  connection  be- 
tween base  and  cornice  be  maintained  by  actual  pilasters  or 
mouldings,  or  by  their  painted  or  woven  imitations.  The  line, 
and  not  the  substance,  is  what  the  eye  demands.  It  is  a  curi- 
ous perversion  of  artistic  laws  that  has  led  certain  critics  to 
denounce  painted  architecture  or  woven  mouldings.  As  in 
imaginative  literature  the  author  may  present  to  his  reader  as 
possible  anything  that  he  has  the  talent  to  make  the  reader 
accept,  so  in  decorative  art  the  artist  is  justified  in  presenting  to 


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Walls  39 

the  eye  whatever  his  skill  can  devise  to  satisfy  its  requirements; 
nor  is  there  any  insincerity  in  this  proceeding.  Decorative  art  is 
not  an  exact  science.  The  decorator  is  not  a  chemist  or  a  physiol- 
ogist ;  it  is  part  of  his  mission,  not  to  explain  illusions,  but  to 
produce  them.  Subject  only  to  laws  established  by  the  limitations 
of  the  eye,  he  is  master  of  the  domain  of  fancy,  of  that  pays  bleu 
of  the  impossible  that  it  is  his  privilege  to  throw  open  to  the 
charmed  imagination. 

Of  the  means  of  wall-decoration  already  named,  fresco-painting 
and  stucco-panelling  were  generally  preferred  by  Italian  deco- 
rators, and  wood-panelling  and  tapestries  by  those  of  northern 
Europe.  The  use  of  arras  naturally  commended  itself  to  the 
northern  noble,  shivering  in  his  draughty  castles  and  obliged 
to  carry  from  one  to  another  the  furniture  and  hangings  that 
the  unsettled  state  of  the  country  made  it  impossible  to  leave 
behind  him.  Italy,  however,  long  supplied  the  finest  designs 
to  the  tapestry-looms  of  northern  Europe,  as  the  Italian  painters 
provided  ready-made  backgrounds  of  peaked  hills,  winding 
torrents  and  pinnacled  cities  to  the  German  engravers  and  the 
Flemish  painters  of  their  day. 

Tapestry,  in  the  best  periods  of  house-decoration,  was  always 
subordinated  to  the  architectural  lines  of  the  room  (see  Plate 
XI).  Where  it  was  not  specially  woven  for  the  panels  it  was 
intended  to  fill,  the  subdivisions  of  the  wall-spaces  were  adapted 
to  its  dimensions.  It  was  carefully  fitted  into  the  panelling  of  the 
room,  and  never  made  to  turn  an  angle,  as  wall-paper  does  in 
modern  rooms,  nor  combined  with  other  odds  and  ends  of  deco- 
ration. If  a  room  was  tapestried,  it  was  tapestried,  not  decorated 
in  some  other  way,  with  bits  of  tapestry  hung  here  and  there  at 
random  over  the  fundamental  lines  of  the  decoration.     Nothing 


40  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

can  be  more  beautiful  than  tapestry  properly  used;  but  hung  up 
without  regard  to  the  composition  of  the  room,  here  turning  an 
angle,  there  covering  a  part  of  the  dado  or  overlapping  a  pilaster, 
it  not  only  loses  its  own  value,  but  destroys  the  whole  scheme  of 
decoration  with  which  it  is  thus  unmeaningly  combined. 

Italian  panelling  was  of  stone,  marble  or  stucco,  while  in  north- 
ern Europe  it  was  so  generally  of  wood  that  (in  England  espe- 
cially) the  term  panelling  has  become  almost  synonymous  with 
wood-panelling,  and  in  some  minds  there  is  a  curious  impression 
that  any  panelling  not  of  wood  is  a  sham.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
wood-panelling  was  used  in  northern  Europe  simply  because  it 
kept  the  cold  out  more  successfully  than  a  revetement  of  stone  or 
plaster;  while  south  of  the  Alps  its  use  was  avoided  for  the 
equally  good  reason  that  in  hot  climates  it  attracts  vermin. 

If  priority  of  use  be  held  as  establishing  a  standard  in  decora- 
tion, wood-panelling  should  be  regarded  as  a  sham  and  plaster- 
panelling  as  its  lawful  prototype;  for  the  use  of  stucco  in  the 
panelling  of  walls  and  ceilings  is  highly  characteristic  of  Roman 
interior  decoration,  and  wood-panelling  as  at  present  used  is  cer- 
tainly of  later  origin.  But  nothing  can  be  more  idle  than  such 
comparisons,  nor  more  misleading  than  the  idea  that  stucco  is  a 
sham  because  it  seeks  to  imitate  wood.  It  does  not  seek  to  imi- 
tate wood.  It  is  a  recognized  substance,  of  incalculable  value  for 
decorative  effect,  and  no  more  owes  its  place  in  decoration  to 
a  fancied  resemblance  to  some  other  material  than  the  nave  of  a 
cathedral  owes  its  place  in  architecture  to  the  fancied  resemblance 
to  a  ship. 

In  the  hands  of  a  great  race  of  artistic  virtuosi  like  the  Italians, 
stucco  has  produced  effects  of  beauty  which  in  any  other  sub- 
stance would  have  lost  something  of  their  freshness,  their  plastic 


Walls  41 

spontaneity.  From  the  delicate  traceries  of  the  Roman  baths  and 
the  loveliness  of  Agostino  da  Duccio's  chapel-front  at  Perugia,  to 
the  improvised  bravura  treatment  of  the  Farnese  theatre  at  Parma, 
it  has  served,  through  every  phase  of  Italian  art,  to  embody  the 
most  refined  and  studied,  as  well  as  the  most  audacious  and 
ephemeral,  of  decorative  conceptions. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  because  painting,  panelling  and 
tapestry  are  the  noblest  forms  of  wall-decoration,  they  are  neces- 
sarily the  most  unattainable.  Good  tapestry  is,  of  course,  very 
expensive,  and  even  that  which  is  only  mediocre  is  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  average  purchaser;  while  stuff  hangings  and  wall- 
papers, its  modern  successors,  have  less  to  recommend  them  than 
other  forms  of  wall-decoration.  With  painting  and  panelling 
the  case  is  different.  When  painted  walls  were  in  fashion,  there 
existed,  below  the  great  creative  artists,  schools  of  decorative  de- 
signers skilled  in  the  art  of  fresco-decoration,  from  the  simplest 
kind  to  the  most  ornate.  The  demand  for  such  decoration  would 
now  call  forth  the  same  order  of  talent,  and  many  artists  who  are 
wasting  their  energies  on  the  production  of  iadiflferent  landscapes 
and  unsuccessful  portraits  might,  in  the  quite  different  field  of 
decorative  painting,  find  the  true  expression  of  their  talent. 

To  many  minds  the  mention  of  a  frescoed  room  suggests  the 
image  of  a  grandiose  saloon,  with  gods  and  goddesses  of  heroic 
size  crowding  the  domed  ceiling  and  lofty  walls ;  but  the  heroic 
style  of  fresco-painting  is  only  one  of  its  many  phases.  To  see 
how  well  this  form  of  decoration  may  be  adapted  to  small  modern 
rooms  and  to  our  present  way  of  living,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
study  the  walls  of  the  little  Pompeian  houses,  with  their  delicate 
arabesques  and  slender,  fanciful  figures,  or  to  note  the  manner  in 
which  the  Italian  painters  treated  the  small  rooms  of  the  casino  or 


42  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

garden-pavilion  which  formed  part  of  every  Italian  country-seat. 
Examples  of  this  light  style  of  decoration  may  be  found  in  the 
Casino  del  grotto  in  the  grounds  of  the  Palazzo  del  T  at  Mantua, 
in  some  of  the  smaller  rooms  of  the  hunting-lodge  of  Stupinigi 
near  Turin,  and  in  the  casino  of  the  Villa  Valmarana  near  Vicenza, 
where  the  frescoes  are  by  Tiepolo;  while  in  France  a  pleasing 
instance  of  the  same  style  of  treatment  is  seen  in  the  small  octag- 
onal pavilion  called  the  Belvedere,  frescoed  by  Le  Riche,  in  the 
gardens  of  the  Petit  Trianon  at  Versailles. 

As  regards  panelling,  it  has  already  been  said  that  if  the  effect 
produced  be  satisfactory  to  the  eye,  the  substance  used  is  a  matter 
of  indifference.  Stone-panelling  has  the  merit  of  solidity,  and  the 
outlines  of  massive  stone  mouldings  are  strong  and  dignified ;  but 
the  same  effect  may  be  produced  in  stucco,  a  material  as  well 
suited  to  the  purpose  as  stone,  save  for  its  greater  fragility. 
Wood-panelling  is  adapted  to  the  most  delicate  carving,  greater 
sharpness  of  edge  and  clearness  of  undercutting  being  obtainable 
than  in  stucco:  though  this  qualification  applies  only  to  the 
moulded  stucco  ornaments  used  from  economy,  not  to  those 
modelled  by  hand.  Used  in  the  latter  way,  stucco  may  be  made 
to  produce  the  same  effects  as  carved  wood,  and  for  delicacy  of 
modelling  in  low  relief  it  is  superior  to  any  other  material.  There 
is,  in  short,  little  to  choose  between  the  different  substances,  ex- 
cept in  so  far  as  one  or  the  other  may  commend  itself  to  the 
artist  as  more  peculiarly  suited  to  the  special  requirements  of  his 
design,  or  to  the  practical  conditions  regulating  his  work. 

It  is  to  this  regard  for  practical  conditions,  and  not  to  any 
fancied  superiority  over  other  materials,  that  the  use  of  wood- 
panelling  in  northern  Europe  may  most  reasonably  be  attributed. 
Not  only  was  wood  easy  to  obtain,  but  it  had  the  additional 


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Walls  43 

merit  of  keeping  out  the  cold :  two  qualities  suflficient  to  recom- 
mend it  to  the  common  sense  of  French  and  English  architects. 
From  the  decorative  point  of  view  it  has,  when  unpainted,  one 
undeniable  advantage  over  stucco — that  is,  beauty  of  color  and 
veining.  As  a  background  for  the  dull  gilding  of  old  picture- 
frames,  or  as  a  setting  for  tapestry,  nothing  can  surpass  the  soft 
rich  tones  of  oak  or  walnut  panelling,  undefaced  by  the  appli- 
cation of  a  shiny  varnish. 

With  the  introduction  of  the  orders  into  domestic  architecture 
and  the  treatment  of  interior  walls  with  dado  and  cornice,  the 
panelling  of  the  wall-space  between  those  two  members  began 
to  assume  definite  proportions.  In  England  and  France,  before 
that  time,  wall-panels  were  often  divided  into  small  equal- 
sized  rectangles  which,  from  lack  of  any  central  motive,  pro- 
duced a  most  inadequate  impression.  Frequently,  too,  in  the 
houses  of  the  Renaissance  the  panelling,  instead  of  being  carried 
up  to  the  ceiling,  was  terminated  two  or  three  feet  below  it  — 
a  form  of  treatment  that  reduced  the  height  of  the  room  and 
broke  the  connection  between  walls  and  ceiling.  This  awkward 
device  of  stunted  panelling,  or,  as  it  might  be  called,  of  an  unduly 
heightened  dado,  has  been  revived  by  modern  decorators;  and  it 
is  not  unusual  to  see  the  walls  of  a  room  treated,  as  regards  their 
base-board  and  cornice,  as  part  of  an  order,  and  then  panelled  up 
to  within  a  foot  or  two  of  the  cornice,  without  apparent  regard 
to  the  true  raison  d'etre  of  the  dado  (see  Plate  XII). 

If,  then,  the  design  of  the  wall-panelling  is  good,  it  matters 
little  whether  stone,  stucco,  or  wood  be  used.  In  all  three  it  is 
possible  to  obtain  effects  ranging  from  the  grandeur  of  the  great 
loggia  of  the  Villa  Madama  to  the  simplicity  of  any  wood- 
panelled  parlor  in  a  New  England  country-house,  and  from  the 


44  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

greatest  costliness  to  an  outlay  little  larger  than  that  required 
for  the  purchase  of  a  good  wall-paper. 

It  was  well  for  the  future  of  house-decoration  when  medical 
science  declared  itself  against  the  use  of  wall-papers.  These 
hangings  have,  in  fact,  little  to  recommend  them.  Besides  being 
objectionable  on  sanitary  grounds,  they  are  inferior  as  a  wall-deco- 
ration to  any  form  of  treatment,  however  simple,  that  maintains, 
instead  of  effacing,  the  architectural  lines  of  a  room.  It  was  the 
use  of  wall-paper  that  led  to  the  obliteration  of  the  over-door 
and  over-mantel,  and  to  the  gradual  submerging  under  a  flood 
of  pattern  of  all  the  main  lines  of  the  wall-spaces.  Its  merits 
are  that  it  is  cheap,  easy  to  put  on  and  easy  to  remove.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  readily  damaged,  soon  fades,  and  cannot  be 
cleaned ;  while  from  the  decorative  point  of  view  there  can  be 
no  comparison  between  the  flat  meanderings  of  wall-paper  pattern 
and  the  strong  architectural  lines  of  any  scheme  of  panelling, 
however  simple.  Sometimes,  of  course,  the  use  of  wall-paper 
is  a  matter  of  convenience,  since  it  saves  both  time  and  trouble; 
but  a  papered  room  can  never,  decoratively  or  otherwise,  be  as 
satisfactory  as  one  in  which  the  walls  are  treated  in  some  other 
manner. 

The  hanging  of  walls  with  chintz  or  any  other  material  is  even 
more  objectionable  than  the  use  of  wall-paper,  since  it  has  not  the 
saving  merit  of  cheapness.  The  custom  is  probably  a  survival  of 
the  time  when  wall-decorations  had  to  be  made  in  movable 
shape;  and  this  facility  of  removal  points  to  the  one  good  reason 
for  using  stuff  hangings.  In  a  hired  house,  if  the  wall-decora- 
tions are  ugly,  and  it  is  necessary  to  hide  them,  the  rooms  may 
be  hung  with  stuff  which  the  departing  tenant  can  take  away. 
In  other  words,  stuff  hangings  are  serviceable  if  used  as  a  tent ; 


Walls  45 

as  a  permanent  mode  of  decoration  they  are  both  unhealthy  and 
inappropriate.  There  is  something  unpleasant  in  the  idea  of  a 
dust-collecting  fabric  fixed  to  the  wall,  so  that  it  cannot  be 
shaken  out  at  will  like  a  curtain.  Textile  fabrics  are  meant  to  be 
moved,  folded,  shaken:  they  have  none  of  the  qualities  of  per- 
manence and  solidity  which  we  associate  with  the  walls  of  a 
room.  The  much-derided  marble  curtains  of  the  Jesuit  church  in 
Venice  are  no  more  illogical  than  stuff  wall-hangings. 

In  decorating  the  walls  of  a  room,  the  first  point  to  be  consid- 
ered is  whether  they  are  to  form  a  background  for  its  contents,  or 
to  be  in  themselves  its  chief  decoration.  In  many  cases  the  dis- 
appointing effects  of  wall-decoration  are  due  to  the  fact  that  this 
important  distinction  has  been  overlooked.  In  rooms  that  are 
to  be  hung  with  prints  or  pictures,  the  panelling  or  other  treat- 
ment of  the  walls  should  be  carefully  designed  with  a  view  to  the 
size  and  number  of  the  pictures.  Pictures  should  never  be  hung 
against  a  background  of  pattern.  Nothing  is  more  distressing 
than  the  sight  of  a  large  oil-painting  in  a  ponderous  frame  seem- 
ingly suspended  from  a  spray  of  wild  roses  or  any  of  the  other 
naturalistic  vegetation  of  the  modern  wall-paper.  The  overlaying 
of  pattern  is  always  a  mistake.  It  produces  a  confusion  of  line  in 
which  the  finest  forms  lose  their  individuality  and  significance. 

It  is  also  important  to  avoid  hanging  pictures  or  prints  too  close 
to  each  other.  Not  only  do  the  colors  clash,  but  the  different 
designs  of  the  frames,  some  of  which  may  be  heavy,  with  deeply 
recessed  mouldings,  while  others  are  flat  and  carved  in  low  relief, 
produce  an  equally  discordant  impression.  Every  one  recognizes 
the  necessity  of  selecting  the  mouldings  and  other  ornamental 
details  of  a  room  with  a  view  to  their  position  in  the  scheme  of 
decoration ;  but  few  stop  to  consider  that  in  a  room  hung  with 


46  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

pictures,  the  frames  take  the  place  of  wall-mouldings,  and  conse- 
quently must  be  chosen  and  placed  as  though  they  were  part  of  a 
definite  decorative  composition. 

Pictures  and  prints  should  be  fastened  to  the  wall,  not  hung  by 
a  cord  or  wire,  nor  allowed  to  tilt  forward  at  an  angle.  The  lat- 
ter arrangement  is  specially  disturbing  since  it  throws  the  pic- 
ture-frames out  of  the  line  of  the  wall.  It  must  never  be  forgotten 
that  pictures  on  a  wall,  whether  set  in  panels  or  merely  framed 
and  hung,  inevitably  become  a  part  of  the  wall-decoration.  In 
the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  in  rooms  of  any  im- 
portance, pictures  were  always  treated  as  a  part  of  the  decoration, 
and  frequently  as  panels  sunk  in  the  wall  in  a  setting  of  carved 
wood  or  stucco  mouldings  (see  paintings  in  Plates  V  and  XIX). 
Even  when  not  set  in  panels,  they  were  always  fixed  to  the  wall, 
and  their  frames,  whether  of  wood  or  stucco,  were  made  to  cor- 
respond with  the  ornamental  detail  of  the  rest  of  the  room.  Beau- 
tiful examples  of  this  mode  of  treatment  are  seen  in  many  English 
interiors  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,^  and  some 
of  the  finest  carvings  of  Grinling  Gibbons  were  designed  for  this 
purpose. 

Even  where  the  walls  are  not  to  be  hung  with  pictures,  it  is 
necessary  to  consider  what  kind  of  background  the  furniture  and 
objects  of  art  require.  If  the  room  is  to  be  crowded  with  cabi- 
nets, bookcases  and  other  tall  pieces,  and  these,  as  well  as  the 
tables  and  mantel-shelf,  are  to  be  covered  with  porcelain  vases, 
bronze  statuettes,  ivories,  Chinese  monsters  and  Chelsea  groups, 
a  plain  background  should  be  provided  for  this  many-colored 
medley.     Should  the  room  contain  only  a  few  important  pieces 

1  See  the  saloon  at  Easton  Neston,  built  by  Nicholas  Hawkesmoor  (Plate  XIII),  and 
various  examples  given  in  Pyne's  Royal  Residences. 


Walls  47 

ot  furniture,  and  one  or  two  vases  or  busts,  the  walls  against 
which  these  strongly  marked  objects  are  to  be  placed  may  re- 
ceive a  more  decorative  treatment.  It  is  only  in  rooms  used  for 
entertaining,  dining,  or  some  special  purpose  for  which  little  fur- 
niture is  required,  that  the  walls  should  receive  a  more  elaborate 
scheme  of  decoration. 

Where  the  walls  are  treated  in  an  architectural  manner,  with  a 
well-designed  dado  and  cornice,  and  an  over-mantel  and  over- 
doors  connecting  the  openings  with  the  cornice,  it  will  be  found 
that  in  a  room  of  average  size  the  intervening  wall-spaces  may 
be  tinted  in  a  uniform  color  and  left  unornamented.  If  the  funda- 
mental lines  are  right,  very  little  decorative  detail  is  needed  to 
complete  the  effect;  whereas,  when  the  lines  are  wrong,  no  over- 
laying of  ornamental  odds  and  ends,  in  the  way  of  pictures,  bric- 
^-brac  and  other  improvised  expedients,  will  conceal  the  struc- 
tural deficiencies. 


IV 

DOORS 

THE  fate  of  the  door  in  America  has  been  a  curious  one,  and 
had  the  other  chief  features  of  the  house  —  such  as  win- 
dows, fireplaces,  and  stairs  —  been  pursued  with  the  same  relent- 
less animosity  by  architects  and  decorators,  we  should  no  longer 
be  living  in  houses  at  all.  First,  the  door  was  slid  into  the  wall ; 
then  even  its  concealed  presence  was  resented,  and  it  was  un- 
hung and  replaced  by  a  portiere;  while  of  late  it  has  actually 
ceased  to  form  a  part  of  house-building,  and  many  recently  built 
houses  contain  doorways  without  doors.  Even  the  front  door, 
which  might  seem  to  have  too  valid  a  reason  for  existence  to  be 
disturbed  by  the  variations  of  fashion,  has  lately  had  to  yield  its 
place,  in  the  more  pretentious  kind  of  house,  to  a  wrought-iron 
gateway  lined  with  plate-glass,  against  which,  as  a  climax  of  in- 
consequence, a  thick  curtain  is  usually  hung. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  explain  such  architectural  vagaries.  In 
general,  their  origin  is  to  be  found  in  the  misapplication  of  some 
serviceable  feature  and  its  consequent  rejection  by  those  who  did 
not  understand  that  it  had  ceased  to  be  useful  only  because  it 
was  not  properly  used. 

In  the  matter  of  doors,  such  an  explanation  at  once  presents 
itself.     During  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  it  occurred 

48 


PLATE  XI  y. 


DOORWAY  WITH  MARBLE  ARCHITRAVE, 

DUCAL   PALACE,  MANTUA.      XVI   CENTURY. 


Doors  49 

to  some  ingenious  person  that  when  two  adjoining  rooms  were 
used  for  entertaining,  and  it  was  necessary  to  open  the  doors  be- 
tween them,  these  doors  might  be  in  the  way;  and  to  avoid 
this  possibility,  a  recess  was  formed  in  the  thickness  of  the  wall, 
and  the  door  was  made  to  slide  into  it. 

This  idea  apparently  originated  in  England,  for  sliding  doors, 
even  in  the  present  day,  are  virtually  unknown  on  the  continent; 
and  Isaac  Ware,  in  the  book  already  quoted,  speaks  of  the  sliding 
door  as  having  been  used  "at  the  house,  late  Mr.  de  Pestre's,  near 
Hanover  Square,"  and  adds  that  "the  manner  of  it  there  may 
serve  as  an  example  to  other  builders,"  showing  it  to  have  been 
a  novelty  which  he  thought  worthy  of  imitation. 

English  taste  has  never  been  so  sure  as  that  of  the  Latin  races ; 
and  it  has,  moreover,  been  perpetually  modified  by  a  passion  for 
contriving  all  kinds  of  supposed  "conveniences,"  which  instead 
of  simplifying  life  not  unfrequently  tend  to  complicate  it.  Amer- 
icans have  inherited  this  trait,  and  in  both  countries  the  architect  or 
upholsterer  who  can  present  a  new  and  more  intricate  way  of 
planning  a  house  or  of  making  a  piece  of  furniture,  is  more  sure 
of  a  hearing  than  he  who  follows  the  accepted  lines. 

It  is  doubtful  if  the  devices  to  which  so  much  is  sacrificed  in 
English  and  American  house-planning  always  offer  the  practical 
advantages  attributed  to  them.  In  the  case  of  the  sliding  door 
these  advantages  are  certainly  open  to  question,  since  there  is  no 
reason  why  a  door  should  not  open  into  a  room.  Under  ordinary 
circumstances,  doors  should  always  be  kept  shut;  it  is  only,  as 
Ware  points  out,  when  two  adjoining  rooms  are  used  for  enter- 
taining that  it  is  necessary  to  leave  the  door  between  them  open. 
Now,  between  two  rooms  destined  for  entertaining,  a  double  door 
(a  deux  battants)  is  always  preferable  to  a  single  one ;  and  as  an 


^o  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

opening  four  feet  six  inches  wide  is  sufficient  in  such  cases,  each 
of  the  doors  will  be  only  two  feet  three  inches  wide,  and  therefore 
cannot  encroach  to  any  serious  extent  on  the  floor-space  of  the 
room.  On  the  other  hand,  much  has  been  sacrificed  to  the 
supposed  "convenience"  of  the  sliding  door:  first,  the  decorative 
effect  of  a  well-panelled  door,  with  hinges,  box-locks  and  handle 
of  finely  chiselled  bronze  ;  secondly,  the  privacy  of  both  rooms, 
since  the  difficulty  of  closing  a  heavy  sliding  door  always  leads  to 
its  being  left  open,  with  the  result  that  two  rooms  are  necessarily 
used  as  one.  In  fact,  the  absence  of  privacy  in  modern  houses 
is  doubtless  in  part  due  to  the  difficulty  of  closing  the  doors  be- 
tween the  rooms. 

The  sliding  door  has  led  to  another  abuse  in  house-planning : 
the  exaggerated  widening  of  the  doorway.  While  doors  were 
hung  on  hinges,  doorways  were  of  necessity  restricted  to  their 
proper  dimensions;  but  with  the  introduction  of  the  sliding  door, 
openings  eight  or  ten  feet  wide  became  possible.  The  planning 
of  a  house  is  often  modified  by  a  vague  idea  on  the  part  of  its 
owners  that  they  may  wish  to  give  entertainments  on  a  large 
scale.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  general  entertainments  are  seldom 
given  in  a  house  of  average  size;  and  those  who  plan  their  houses 
with  a  view  to  such  possibilities  sacrifice  their  daily  comfort  to 
an  event  occurring  perhaps  once  a  year.  But  even  where  many 
entertainments  are  to  be  given  large  doorways  are  of  little  use. 
Any  architect  of  experience  knows  that  ease  of  circulation  de- 
pends far  more  on  the  planning  of  the  house  and  on  the  position 
of  the  openings  than  on  the  actual  dimensions  of  the  latter. 
Indeed,  two  moderate-sized  doorways  leading  from  one  room 
to  another  are  of  much  more  use  in  facilitating  the  movements 
of  a  crowd  than  one  opening  ten  feet  wide. 


Doors  5 1 

Sliding  doors  have  been  recommended  on  the  ground  that  their 
use  preserves  a  greater  amount  of  wall-space ;  but  two  doorways 
of  moderate  dimensions,  properly  placed,  will  preserve  as  much 
wall-space  as  one  very  large  opening  and  will  probably  permit  a 
better  distribution  of  panelling  and  furniture.  There  was  far  more 
wall-space  in  seventeenth  and  eighteenth-century  rooms  than  there 
is  in  rooms  of  the  same  dimensions  in  the  average  modern  Ameri- 
can house;  and  even  where  this  space  was  not  greater  in  actual 
measurement,  more  furniture  could  be  used,  since  the  openings 
were  always  placed  with  a  view  to  the  proper  arrangement  of 
what  the  room  was  to  contain. 

According  to  the  best  authorities,  the  height  of  a  well-propor- 
tioned doorway  should  be  twice  its  width ;  and  as  the  height  is 
necessarily  regulated  by  the  stud  of  the  room,  it  follows  that  the 
width  varies;  but  it  is  obvious  that  no  doorway  should  be  less 
than  six  feet  high  nor  less  than  three  feet  wide. 

When  a  doorway  is  over  three  feet  six  inches  wide,  a  pair  of 
doors  should  always  be  used ;  while  a  single  door  is  preferable  in 
a  narrow  opening. 

In  rooms  twelve  feet  or  less  in  height,  doorways  should  not  be 
more  than  nine  feet  high.  The  width  of  openings  in  such  rooms 
is  therefore  restricted  to  four  feet  six  inches;  indeed,  it  is  permis- 
sible to  make  the  opening  lower  and  thus  reduce  its  width  to 
four  feet;  six  inches  of  additional  wall-space  are  not  to  be  despised 
in  a  room  of  average  dimensions. 

The  treatment  of  the  door  forms  one  of  the  most  interesting 
chapters  in  the  history  of  house-decoration.  In  feudal  castles  the 
interior  doorway,  for  purposes  of  defense,  was  made  so  small  and 
narrow  that  only  one  person  could  pass  through  at  a  time,  and 
was  set  in  a  plain  lintel  or  architrave  of  stone,  the  door  itself  being 


C2  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

fortified  by  bands  of  steel  or  iron,  and  by  heavy  bolts  and  bars. 
Even  at  this  early  period  it  seems  probable  that  in  the  chief  apart- 
ments the  lines  of  the  doorway  were  carried  up  to  the  ceiling  by 
means  of  an  over-door  of  carved  wood,  or  of  some  painted  deco- 
rative composition. 1  This  connection  between  the  doorway  and 
the  ceiling,  maintained  through  all  the  subsequent  phases  of  house- 
decoration,  was  in  fact  never  disregarded  until  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century. 

It  was  in  Italy  that  the  door,  in  common  with  the  other  features 
of  private  dwellings,  first  received  a  distinctly  architectural  treat- 
ment. In  Italian  palaces  of  the  fifteenth  century  the  doorways 
were  usually  framed  by  architraves  of  marble,  enriched  with 
arabesques,  medallions  and  processional  friezes  in  low  relief, 
combined  with  disks  of  colored  marble.  Interesting  examples 
of  this  treatment  are  seen  in  the  apartments  of  Isabella  of  Este  in 
the  ducal  palace  at  Mantua  (see  Plate  XIV),  in  the  ducal  palace  at 
Urbino,  and  in  the  Certosa  of  Pavia  —  some  of  the  smaller  door- 
ways in  this  monastery  being  decorated  with  medallion  portraits 
of  the  Sforzas,  and  with  other  low  reliefs  of  extraordinary  beauty. 

The  doors  in  Italian  palaces  were  usually  of  inlaid  wood,  elabo- 
rate in  composition  and  affording  in  many  cases  beautiful  in- 
stances of  that  sense  of  material  limitation  that  preserves  one 
art  from  infringing  upon  another.  The  intarsia  doors  of  the 
palace  at  Urbino  are  among  the  most  famous  examples  of  this 
form  of  decoration.  It  should  be  noted  that  many  of  the  woods 
used  in  Italian  marquetry  were  of  a  light  shade,  so  that  the  blend- 
ing of  colors  in  Renaissance  doors  produces  a  sunny  golden- 
brown  tint  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  marble  architrave  of  the 

1  See  Viollet-le-Duc,  Dictionnaire  raisonne  de  V Architecture  fratifaise,  under 
Porte. 


Doors  5  3 

doorway.  The  Italian  decorator  would  never  have  permitted  so 
harsh  a  contrast  as  that  between  the  white  trim  and  the  mahog- 
any doors  of  English  eighteenth-century  houses.  This  juxtaposi- 
tion of  colors  was  disapproved  by  French  decorators  also,  and 
was  seldom  seen  except  in  England  and  in  the  American  houses 
built  under  English  influence.  It  should  be  observed,  too,  that 
the  polish  given  to  hard-grained  wood  in  England,  and  imitated 
in  the  wood-varnish  of  the  present  day,  was  never  in  favor  in 
Italy  and  France.  Shiny  surfaces  were  always  disliked  by  the 
best  decorators. 

The  classic  revival  in  Italy  necessarily  modified  the  treatment 
of  the  doorway.  Flat  arabesques  and  delicately  chiselled  medal- 
lions gave  way  to  a  plain  architrave,  frequently  masked  by  an 
order;  while  the  over-door  took  the  form  of  a  pediment,  or,  in 
the  absence  of  shafts,  of  a  cornice  or  entablature  resting  on 
brackets.  The  use  of  a  pediment  over  interior  doorways  was 
characteristic  of  Italian  decoration. 

In  studying  Italian  interiors  of  this  period  from  photographs  or 
modern  prints,  or  even  in  visiting  the  partly  dilapidated  palaces 
themselves,  it  may  at  first  appear  that  the  lines  of  the  doorway 
were  not  always  carried  up  to  the  cornice.  Several  causes  have 
combined  to  produce  this  impression.  In  the  first  place,  the 
architectural  treatment  of  the  over-door  was  frequently  painted  on 
the  wall,  and  has  consequently  disappeared  with  the  rest  of  the 
wall-decoration  (see  Plate  XV).  Then,  again,  Italian  rooms 
were  often  painted  with  landscapes  and  out-of-door  architectural 
effects,  and  when  this  was  done  the  doorways  were  combined 
with  these  architectural  compositions,  and  were  not  treated  as 
part  of  the  room,  but  as  part  of  what  the  room  pretended  to  be. 
In  the  suppressed  Scuola  della  Carita  (now  the  Academy  of  Fine 


^4  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

Arts)  at  Venice,  one  may  see  a  famous  example  of  this  treatment 
in  the  doorway  under  the  stairs  leading  up  to  the  temple,  in 
Titian's  great  painting  of  the  "Presentation  of  the  Virgin."  ^ 
Again,  in  the  high-studded  Italian  saloons  containing  a  mu- 
sician's gallery,  or  a  clerestory,  a  cornice  was  frequently  carried 
around  the  walls  at  suitable  height  above  the  lower  range  of 
openings,  and  the  decorative  treatment  above  the  doors,  win- 
dows and  fireplace  extended  only  to  this  cornice,  not  to  the 
actual  ceiling  of  the  room. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  relation  between  the  openings  and 
cornice  in  Italian  decoration  was  in  reality  always  maintained 
except  where  the  decorator  chose  to  regard  them  as  forming  a 
part,  not  of  the  room,  but  of  some  other  architectural  composition. 

In  the  sixteenth  century  the  excessive  use  of  marquetry  was 
abandoned,  doors  being  panelled,  and  either  left  undecorated  or 
painted  with  those  light  animated  combinations  of  figure  and  ara- 
besque which  Raphael  borrowed  from  the  Roman  fresco-painters, 
and  which  since  his  day  have  been  peculiarly  characteristic  of 
Italian  decorative  painting.^ 

Wood-carving  in  Italy  was  little  used  in  house-decoration,  and, 
as  a  rule,  the  panelling  of  doors  was  severely  architectural  in  char- 
acter, with  little  of  the  delicate  ornamentation  marking  the  French 
work  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.' 

In  France  the  application  of  the  orders  to  interior  doorways 
was  never  very  popular,  though  it  figures  in  French  architectural 

1  This  painting  has  now  been  restored  to  its  proper  position  in  the  Scuola  della 
Carita,  and  the  door  which  had  been  painted  in  under  the  stairs  has  been  removed 
to  make  way  for  the  actual  doorway  around  which  the  picture  was  originally  painted. 

2  See  the  doors  of  the  Sala  dello  Zodiaco  in  the  ducal  palace  at  Mantua  (Plate  XVI). 
8  Some  rooms  of  the  rocaille  period,  however,  contain  doors  as  elaborately  carved 

as  those  seen  in  France  (see  the  doors  in  the  royal  palace  at  Genoa,  Plate  XXXIV). 


Doors  S5 

works  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  architrave,  except  in 
houses  of  great  magnificence,  was  usually  of  wood,  sometimes 
very  richly  carved.  It  was  often  surmounted  by  an  entablature 
with  a  cornice  resting  on  carved  brackets;  while  the  panel  be- 
tween this  and  the  ceiling-cornice  was  occuped  by  an  over-door 
consisting  either  of  a  painting,  of  a  carved  panel  or  of  a  stucco  or 
marble  bas-relief  These  over-doors  usually  corresponded  with 
the  design  of  the  over-mantel. 

Great  taste  and  skill  were  displayed  in  the  decoration  of  door- 
panels  and  embrasure.  In  the  earlier  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  doors  and  embrasures  were  usually  painted,  and  nothing 
in  the  way  of  decorative  painting  can  exceed  in  beauty  and  fitness 
the  French  compositions  of  this  period. ^ 

During  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV,  doors  were  either  carved  or 
painted,  and  their  treatment  ranged  from  the  most  elaborate  dec- 
oration to  the  simplest  panelling  set  in  a  plain  wooden  architrave. 
In  some  French  doors  of  this  period  painting  and  carving  were 
admirably  combined;  and  they  were  further  ornamented  by  the 
chiselled  locks  and  hinges  for  which  French  locksmiths  were 
famous.  So  important  a  part  did  these  locks  and  hinges  play  in 
French  decoration  that  Lebrun  himself  is  said  to  have  designed 
those  in  the  Galerie  d'Apollon,  in  the  Louvre,  when  he  composed 
the  decoration  of  the  room.  Even  in  the  simplest  private  houses, 
where  chiselled  bronze  was  too  expensive  a  luxury,  and  wrought- 
iron  locks  and  hinges,  with  plain  knobs  of  brass  or  iron,  were  used 
instead,  such  attention  was  paid  to  both  design  and  execution 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  find  in  France  an  old  lock  or  hinge, 
however  plain,  that  is  not  well  designed  and  well  made  (see 
Plate   XVII).     The   miserable   commercial   article  that   disgraces 

1  See  the  doors  at  Vaux-le-Vicomte  and  in  the  Palais  de  Justice  at  Rennes. 


56  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

our  modern  doors  would  not  have  been  tolerated  in  the  most  un- 
pretentious dwelling. 

The  mortise-lock  now  in  use  in  England  and  America  first 
made  its  appearance  toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century 
in  England,  where  it  displaced  the  brass  or  iron  box-lock ;  but  on 
the  Continent  it  has  never  been  adopted.  It  is  a  poor  substitute 
for  the  box-lock,  since  it  not  only  weakens  but  disfigures  the 
door,  while  a  well-designed  box-lock  is  both  substantial  and 
ornamental  (see  Plate  XVII). 

In  many  minds  the  Louis  XV  period  is  associated  with  a  general 
waviness  of  line  and  excess  of  carving.  It  has  already  been 
pointed  out  that  even  when  the  rocaille  manner  was  at  its  height 
the  main  lines  of  a  room  were  seldom  allowed  to  follow  the  ca- 
pricious movement  of  the  ornamental  accessories.  Openings 
being  the  leading  features  of  a  room,  their  main  lines  were  almost 
invariably  respected ;  and  while  considerable  play  of  movement 
was  allowed  in  some  of  the  accessory  mouldings  of  the  over-doors 
and  over-mantels,  the  plan  of  the  panel,  in  general  symmetrical, 
was  in  many  cases  a  plain  rectangle.^ 

During  the  Louis  XV  period  the  panelling  of  doors  was  fre- 
quently enriched  with  elaborate  carving;  but  such  doors  are  to  be 
found  only  in  palaces,  or  in  princely  houses  like  the  Hdtels  de 
Soubise,  de  Rohan,  or  de  Toulouse  (see  Plate  XVIII).  In  the 
most  magnificent  apartments,  moreover,  plain  panelled  doors 
were  as  common  as  those  adorned  with  carving;  while  in  the 
average  private  hdtel,  even  where  much  ornament  was  lavished 
on  the  panelling  of  the  walls,  the  doors  were  left  plain. 

Towards  the  close  of  this  reign,  when  the  influence  of  Gabriel 

1  Only  in  the  most  exaggerated  German  baroque  were  the  vertical  lines  of  the 
door-panels  sometimes  irregular. 


Doors  ^y 

began  to  simplify  and  restrain  the  ornamental  details  of  house- 
decoration,  the  panelled  door  was  often  made  without  carving 
and  was  sometimes  painted  with  attenuated  arabesques  and 
grisaille  medallions,  relieved  against  a  gold  ground.  Gabriel  gave 
the  key-note  of  what  is  known  as  Louis  XVI  decoration,  and  the 
treatment  of  the  door  in  France  followed  the  same  general  lines 
until  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century.  As  the  classic  influence 
became  more  marked,  paintings  in  the  over-door  and  over-mantel 
were  replaced  by  low  or  high  reliefs  in  stucco :  and  towards  the 
end  of  the  Louis  XVI  period  a  processional  frieze  in  the  classic 
manner  often  filled  the  entablature  above  the  architrave  of  the 
door  (see  Plate  XVI). 

Doors  opening  upon  a  terrace,  or  leading  from  an  antechamber 
into  a  summer-parlor,  or  salon  frais,  were  frequently  made  of  glass; 
while  in  gala  rooms,  doors  so  situated  as  to  correspond  with  the 
windows  of  the  room  were  sometimes  made  of  looking-glass. 
In  both  these  instances  the  glass  was  divided  into  small  panes, 
with  such  strongly  marked  mouldings  that  there  could  not  be  a 
moment's  doubt  of  the  apparent,  as  well  as  the  actual,  solidity  of 
the  door.  In  good  decorative  art  first  impressions  are  always 
taken  into  account,  and  the  immediate  satisfaction  of  the  eye  is 
provided  for. 

In  England  the  treatment  of  doorway  and  door  followed  in  a 
general  way  the  Italian  precedent.  The  architrave,  as  a  rule,  was 
severely  architectural,  and  in  the  eighteenth  century  the  applica- 
tion of  an  order  was  regarded  as  almost  essential  in  rooms  of  a 
certain  importance.  The  door  itself  was  sometimes  inlaid,^  but 
oftener  simply  panelled  (see  Plate  XI). 

1  The  inlaid  doors  of  Houghton  Hall,  the  seat  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  were  noted 
for  their  beauty  and  costliness.     The  price  of  each  was  ;^20O. 


58  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

In  the  panelling  of  doors,  English  taste,  except  when  it  closely 
followed  Italian  precedents,  was  not  always  good.  The  use  of  a 
pair  of  doors  in  one  opening  was  confined  to  grand  houses,  and  in 
the  average  dwelling  single  doors  were  almost  invariably  used, 
even  in  openings  over  three  feet  wide.  The  great  width  of  some 
of  these  single  doors  led  to  a  curious  treatment  of  the  panels,  the 
door  being  divided  by  a  central  stile,  which  was  sometimes 
beaded,  as  though,  instead  of  a  single  door,  it  were  really  a  pair 
held  together  by  some  invisible  agency.  This  central  stile  is 
almost  invariably  seen  in  the  doors  of  modern  American  houses. 

Towards  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  use  of  highly 
polished  mahogany  doors  became  general  in  England.  It  has 
already  been  pointed  out  that  the  juxtaposition  of  a  dark-colored 
door  and  a  white  architrave  was  not  approved  by  French  and 
Italian  architects.  Blondel,  in  fact,  expressly  states  that  such 
contrasts  are  to  be  avoided,  and  that  where  walls  are  pale  in 
tint  the  door  should  never  be  dark :  thus  in  vestibules  and  ante- 
chambers panelled  with  Caen  stone  he  recommends  painting  the 
doors  a  pale  shade  of  gray. 

In  Italy,  when  doors  were  left  unpainted  they  were  usually 
made  of  walnut,  a  wood  of  which  the  soft,  dull  tone  harmonizes 
well  with  almost  any  color,  whether  light  or  dark;  while  in 
France  it  would  not  be  easy  to  find  an  unpainted  door,  except 
in  rooms  where  the  wall-panelling  is  also  of  natural  wood. 

In  the  better  type  of  house  lately  built  in  America  there  is  seen 
a  tendency  to  return  to  the  use  of  doors  hung  on  hinges.  These, 
however,  have  been  so  long  out  of  favor  that  the  rules  regulating 
their  dimensions  have  been  lost  sight  of,  and  the  modern  door 
and  architrave  are  seldom  satisfactory  in  these  respects.  The 
principles  of  proportion  have  been  further  disturbed  by  a  return 


PLATE  Xyi. 


DOOR  IN  THE  SALA  DELLO  ZODIACO, 

DUCAL   PALACE,  MANTUA.       XVIII   CENTURY. 


•  ••••    *  *tl      *  .*• 


Doors  59 

to  the  conflised  and  hesitating  system  of  panelling  prevalent  in 
England  during  the  Tudor  and  Elizabethan  periods. 

The  old  French  and  Italian  architects  never  failed  to  respect 
that  rule  of  decorative  composition  which  prescribes  that  where 
there  is  any  division  of  parts,  one  part  shall  unmistakably  pre- 
dominate. In  conformity  with  this  rule,  the  principal  panel  in 
doors  of  French  or  Italian  design  is  so  much  higher  than  the 
others  that  these  are  at  once  seen  to  be  merely  accessory; 
whereas  many  of  our  modern  doors  are  cut  up  into  so  many 
small  panels,  and  the  central  one  so  little  exceeds  the  others 
in  height,  that  they  do  not  "compose." 

The  architrave  of  the  modern  door  has  been  neglected  for 
the  same  reasons  as  the  window-architrave.  The  use  of  the 
heavy  sliding  door,  which  could  not  be  opened  or  shut  without 
an  effort,  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  portiere ;  and  the  architrave, 
being  thus  concealed,  was  no  longer  regarded  as  a  feature  of  any 
importance  in  the  decoration  of  the  room. 

The  portiere  has  always  been  used,  as  old  prints  and  pictures 
show;  but,  like  the  curtain,  in  earlier  days  it  was  simply  intended 
to  keep  out  currents  of  air,  and  was  consequently  seldom  seen  in 
well-built  houses,  where  double  sets  of  doors  served  far  better  to 
protect  the  room  from  draughts.  In  less  luxurious  rooms,  where 
there  were  no  double  doors,  and  portieres  had  to  be  used,  these 
were  made  as  scant  and  unobtrusive  as  possible.  The  device 
of  draping  stuffs  about  the  doorway,  thus  substituting  a  textile 
architrave  for  one  of  wood  or  stone,  originated  with  the  modern 
upholsterer;  and  it  is  now  not  unusual  to  see  a  wide  opening 
with  no  door  in  it,  enclosed  in  yards  and  yards  of  draperies 
which  cannot  even  be  lowered  at  will. 

The  portiere,   besides  causing  a  break  in  architectural  lines, 


6o  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

has  become  one  of  the  chief  expenses  in  the  decoration  of  the 
modem  room;  indeed,  the  amount  spent  in  buying  yards  of 
plush  or  damask,  with  the  addition  of  silk  cord,  tassels,  gimp 
and  fringe,  often  makes  it  necessary  to  slight  the  essential  features 
of  the  room ;  so  that  an  ugly  mantelpiece  or  ceiling  is  preserved 
because  the  money  required  to  replace  it  has  been  used  in  the 
purchase  of  portieres.  These  superfluous  draperies  are,  in  fact, 
more  expensive  than  a  well-made  door  with  hinges  and  box-lock 
of  chiselled  bronze. 

The  general  use  of  the  portiere  has  also  caused  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  over-door.  The  lines  of  the  opening  being  hidden 
under  a  mass  of  drapery,  the  need  of  connecting  them  with  the 
cornice  was  no  longer  felt,  and  one  more  feature  of  the  room 
passed  out  of  the  architect's  hands  into  those  of  the  upholsterer, 
or,  as  he  might  more  fitly  be  called,  the  house-dressmaker. 

The  return  to  better  principles  of  design  will  do  more  than 
anything  else  to  restore  the  architectural  lines  of  the  room. 
Those  who  use  portieres  generally  do  so  from  an  instinctive  feel- 
ing that  a  door  is  an  ugly  thing  that  ought  to  be  hidden,  and 
modern  doors  are  in  fact  ugly;  but  when  architects  give  to  the 
treatment  of  openings  the  same  attention  they  formerly  received, 
it  will  soon  be  seen  that  this  ugliness  is  not  a  necessity,  and 
portieres  will  disappear  with  the  return  of  well-designed  doors. 

Some  general  hints  concerning  the  distribution  of  openings 
have  been  given  in  the  chapter  on  walls.  It  may  be  noted  in  ad- 
dition that  while  all  doorways  in  a  room  should,  as  a  rule,  be 
of  one  height,  there  are  cases  where  certain  clearly  subordinate 
openings  may  be  lower  than  those  which  contain  doors  a  deux 
baUants.  In  such  cases  the  panelling  of  the  door  must  be  care- 
fully modified  in  accordance  with  the  dimensions  of  the  opening, 


PLATE  Xyil. 


«*.!a>*?  '^^s' 


iit>; 


''  -"••■'-"-'-"-"•Ziii^lLiai/ 


:r^^!Tfr-r^ 


^^. 


-vv. 


'iiLUJLLki^^ 


^^l^x 


EXAMPLES  OF  MODERN  FRENCH  LOCKSMITHS' WORK, 


Doors  6 1 

and  the  treatment  of  the  over-doors  in  their  relation  to  each 
other  must  be  studied  with  equal  attention.  Examples  of  such 
adaptations  are  to  be  found  in  many  old  French  and  Italian 
rooms.  1 

Doors  should  always  swing  into  a  room.  This  facilitates  en- 
trance and  gives  the  hospitable  impression  that  everything  is 
made  easy  to  those  who  are  coming  in.  Doors  should  further- 
more be  so  hung  that  they  screen  that  part  of  the  room  in  which 
the  occupants  usually  sit.  In  small  rooms,  especially  those  in 
town  houses,  this  detail  cannot  be  too  carefully  considered.  The 
fact  that  so  many  doors  open  in  the  wrong  way  is  another  excuse 
for  the  existence  of  portieres. 

A  word  must  also  be  said  concerning  the  actual  making  of  the 
door.  There  is  a  general  impression  that  veneered  doors  or  furni- 
ture are  cheap  substitutes  for  articles  made  of  solid  blocks  of  wood. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  owing  to  the  high  temperature  of  American 
houses,  all  well-made  wood-work  used  in  this  country  is  of  neces- 
sity composed  of  at  least  three,  and  often  of  five,  layers  of  wood. 
This  method  of  veneering,  in  which  the  layers  are  so  placed  that 
the  grain  runs  in  different  directions,  is  the  only  way  of  counteract- 
ing the  shrinking  and  swelling  of  the  wood  under  artificial  heat. 

To  some  minds  the  concealed  door  represents  one  of  those 
architectural  deceptions  which  no  necessity  can  excuse.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  the  concealed  door  is  an  expedient,  and  that  in  a  well- 
planned  house  there  should  be  no  need  for  expedients,  unless  the 
architect  is  hampered  by  limitations  of  space,  as  is  the  case  in 
designing  the  average  American  town  house.  Architects  all 
know  how  many  principles  of  beauty  and  fitness  must  be  sacri- 

1  See  a  room  in  the  Ministere  de  la  Marine  at  Paris,  where  a  subordinate  door  is 
cleverly  treated  in  connection  with  one  of  more  importance. 


62  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

ficed  to  the  restrictions  of  a  plot  of  ground  twenty-five  feet  wide 
by  seventy-five  or  a  hundred  in  length.  Under  such  conditions, 
every  device  is  permissible  that  helps  to  produce  an  effect  of 
spaciousness  and  symmetry  without  interfering  with  convenience: 
chief  among  these  contrivances  being  the  concealed  door. 

Such  doors  are  often  useful  in  altering  or  adding  to  a  badly 
planned  house.  It  is  sometimes  desirable  to  give  increased  facili- 
ties of  communication  without  adding  to  the  visible  number  of 
openings  in  any  one  room;  while  in  other  cases  the  limited 
amount  of  wall-space  may  make  it  difficult  to  find  place  for  a 
doorway  corresponding  in  dimensions  with  the  others;  or,  again, 
where  it  is  necessary  to  make  a  closet  under  the  stairs,  the  archi- 
trave of  a  visible  door  may  clash  awkwardly  with  the  string- 
board. 

Under  such  conditions  the  concealed  door  naturally  suggests 
itself.  To  those  who  regard  its  use  as  an  offense  against  artistic 
integrity,  it  must  once  more  be  pointed  out  that  architecture 
addresses  itself  not  to  the  moral  sense,  but  to  the  eye.  The  exist- 
ing confusion  on  this  point  is  partly  due  to  the  strange  analogy 
drawn  by  modern  critics  between  artistic  sincerity  and  moral  law. 
Analogies  are  the  most  dangerous  form  of  reasoning:  they  con- 
nect resemblances,  but  disguise  facts;  and  in  this  instance  nothing 
can  be  more  fallacious  than  to  measure  the  architect's  action  by 
an  ethical  standard. 

"Sincerity,"  in  many  minds,  is  chiefly  associated  with  speaking 
the  truth ;  but  architectural  sincerity  is  simply  obedience  to  certain 
visual  requirements,  one  of  which  demands  that  what  are  at  once 
seen  to  be  the  main  lines  of  a  room  or  house  shall  be  acknow- 
ledged as  such  in  the  application  of  ornament.  The  same  archi- 
tectural principles  demand  that  the  main  lines  of  a  room  shall  not 


PLATE  Xyill. 


CARVED  DOOR,  PALACE  OF  VERSAILLES. 

louis  xv  period, 
(showing  painted  over-door.) 


Doors  63 

be  unnecessarily  interrupted ;  and  in  certain  cases  it  would  be  bad 
taste  to  disturb  the  equilibrium  of  wall-spaces  and  decoration  by 
introducing  a  visible  door  leading  to  some  unimportant  closet  or 
passageway,  of  which  the  existence  need  not  be  known  to  any 
but  the  inmates  of  the  house.  It  is  in  such  cases  that  the  con- 
cealed door  is  a  useful  expedient.  It  can  hardly  be  necessary  to 
point  out  that  it  would  be  a  great  mistake  to  place  a  concealed 
door  in  a  main  opening.  These  openings  should  always  be 
recognized  as  one  of  the  chief  features  of  the  room,  and  so  treated 
by  the  decorator;  but  this  point  has  already  been  so  strongly 
insisted  upon  that  it  is  reverted  to  here  only  in  order  to  show  how 
different  are  the  requirements  which  justify  concealment. 

The  concealed  door  has  until  recently  been  used  so  little  by 
American  architects  that  its  construction  is  not  well  understood, 
and  it  is  often  hung  on  ordinary  visible  hinges,  instead  of  being 
swung  on  a  pivot.  There  is  no  reason  why,  with  proper  care,  a 
door  of  this  kind  should  not  be  so  nicely  adjusted  to  the  wall- 
panelling  as  to  be  practically  invisible;  and  to  fulfil  this  condition 
is  the  first  necessity  of  its  construction  (see  concealed  door  in 
Plate  XLV). 


WINDOWS 

IN  the  decorative  treatment  of  a  room  the  importance  of  open- 
ings can  hardly  be  overestimated.  Not  only  do  they  represent 
the  three  chief  essentials  of  its  comfort, —  light,  heat  and  means 
of  access, —  but  they  are  the  leading  features  in  that  combination 
of  voids  and  masses  that  forms  the  basis  of  architectural  harmony. 
In  fact,  it  is  chiefly  because  the  decorative  value  of  openings  has 
ceased  to  be  recognized  that  modem  rooms  so  seldom  produce  a 
satisfactory  and  harmonious  impression.  It  used  to  be  thought 
that  the  eflFect  of  a  room  depended  on  the  treatment  of  its 
wall-spaces  and  openings ;  now  it  is  supposed  to  depend  on  its 
curtains  and  furniture.  Accessory  details  have  crowded  out  the 
main  decorative  features;  and,  as  invariably  happens  when  the 
relation  of  parts  is  disturbed,  everything  in  the  modern  room  has 
been  thrown  out  of  balance  by  this  confusion  between  the  es- 
sential and  the  incidental  in  decoration.^ 

The  return  to  a  more  architectural  treatment  of  rooms  and 
to  a  recognition  of  the  decorative  value  of  openings,  besides  pro- 

1  As  an  example  of  the  extent  to  which  openings  have  come  to  be  ignored  as  fac- 
tors in  the  decorative  composition  of  a  room,  it  is  curious  to  note  that  in  Eastlake's 
well-known  Hints  on  Household  Taste  no  mention  is  made  of  doors,  windows 
or  fireplaces.  Compare  this  point  of  view  with  that  of  the  earlier  decorators,  from 
Vignola  to  Roubo  and  Ware. 

64 


Windows  65 

ducing  much  better  results,  would  undoubtedly  reduce  the 
expense  of  house-decoration.  A  small  quantity  of  ornament, 
properly  applied,  will  produce  far  more  effect  than  ten  times  its 
amount  used  in  the  wrong  way;  and  it  will  be  found  that  when 
decorators  rely  for  their  effects  on  the  treatment  of  openings, 
the  rest  of  the  room  will  require  little  ornamentation.  The 
crowding  of  rooms  with  furniture  and  bric-a-brac  is  doubtless 
partly  due  to  an  unconscious  desire  to  fill  up  the  blanks  caused 
by  the  lack  of  architectural  composition  in  the  treatment  of 
the  walls. 

The  importance  of  connecting  the  main  lines  of  the  openings 
with  the  cornice  having  been  explained  in  the  previous  chapter, 
it  is  now  necessary  to  study  the  different  openings  in  turn,  and  to 
see  in  how  many  ways  they  serve  to  increase  the  dignity  and 
beauty  of  their  surroundings. 

As  light-giving  is  the  main  purpose  for  which  windows  are 
made,  the  top  of  the  window  should  be  as  near  the  ceiling  as  the 
cornice  will  allow.  Ventilation,  the  secondary  purpose  of  the 
window,  is  also  better  served  by  its  being  so  placed,  since  an 
opening  a  foot  wide  near  the  ceiling  will  do  more  towards  airing 
a  room  than  a  space  twice  as  large  near  the  floor.  In  our  north- 
ern States,  where  the  dark  winter  days  and  the  need  of  artificial 
heat  make  light  and  ventilation  so  necessary,  these  considerations 
are  especially  important.  In  Italian  palaces  the  windows  are  gen- 
erally lower  than  in  more  northern  countries,  since  the  greater 
intensity  of  the  sunshine  makes  a  much  smaller  opening  suffi- 
cient; moreover,  in  Italy,  during  the  summer,  houses  are  not  kept 
cool  by  letting  in  the  air,  but  by  shutting  it  out. 

Windows  should  not  exceed  five  feet  in  width,  while  in  small 
rooms  openings  three  feet  wide  will  be  found  sufficient.     There 


66  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

are  practical  as  well  as  artistic  reasons  for  observing  this  rule, 
since  a  sash-window  containing  a  sheet  of  glass  more  than  five 
feet  wide  cannot  be  so  hung  that  it  may  be  raised  without  effort; 
while  a  casement,  or  French  window,  though  it  may  be  made 
somewhat  wider,  is  not  easy  to  open  if  its  width  exceeds  six  feet. 

The  next  point  to  consider  is  the  distance  between  the  bottom 
of  the  window  and  the  floor.  This  must  be  decided  by  circum- 
stances, such  as  the  nature  of  the  view,  the  existence  of  a  balcony 
or  veranda,  or  the  wish  to  have  a  window-seat.  The  outlook 
must  also  be  considered,  and  the  window  treated  in  one  way  if 
it  looks  upon  the  street,  and  in  another  if  it  gives  on  the  garden 
or  informal  side  of  the  house.  In  the  country  nothing  is  more 
charming  than  the  French  window  opening  to  the  floor.  On  the 
more  public  side  of  the  house,  unless  the  latter  gives  on  an  en- 
closed court,  it  is  best  that  the  windows  should  be  placed  about 
three  feet  from  the  floor,  so  that  persons  approaching  the  house 
may  not  be  able  to  look  in.  Windows  placed  at  this  height 
should  be  provided  with  a  fixed  seat,  or  with  one  of  the  little 
settees  with  arms,  but  without  a  back,  formerly  used  for  this 
purpose. 

Although  for  practical  reasons  it  may  be  necessary  that  the 
same  room  should  contain  some  windows  opening  to  the  floor 
and  others  raised  several  feet  above  it,  the  tops  of  all  the  windows 
should  be  on  a  level.  To  place  them  at  different  heights  serves 
no  useful  end,  and  interferes  with  any  general  scheme  of  decora- 
tion and  more  specially  with  the  arrangement  of  curtains. 

Mullions  dividing  a  window  in  the  centre  should  be  avoided 
whenever  possible,  since  they  are  an  unnecessary  obstruction  to 
the  view.  The  chief  drawback  to  a  casement  window  is  that  its 
sashes  join  in  the  middle;  but  as  this  is  a  structural  necessity,  it 


Windows  t'j 

is  less  objectionable.  If  mullions  are  required,  they  should  be  so 
placed  as  to  divide  the  window  into  three  parts,  thus  preserving 
an  unobstructed  central  pane.  The  window  called  Palladian  illus- 
trates this  point. 

Now  that  large  plate-glass  windows  have  ceased  to  be  a  novelty, 
it  will  perhaps  be  recognized  that  the  old  window  with  subdi- 
vided panes  had  certain  artistic  and  practical  merits  that  have 
of  late  been  disregarded. 

Where  there  is  a  fine  prospect,  windows  made  of  a  single  plate 
of  glass  are  often  preferred;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
subdivisions  of  a  sash,  while  obstructing  the  view,  serve  to  estab- 
lish a  relation  between  the  inside  of  the  house  and  the  landscape, 
making  the  latter  what,  ai  seen  from  a  room,  it  logically  ought  to 
be:  a  part  of  the  wall-decoration,  in  the  sense  of  being  subordi- 
nated to  the  same  general  lines.  A  large  unbroken  sheet  of  plate- 
glass  interrupts  the  decorative  scheme  of  the  room,  just  as  in  verse, 
if  the  distances  between  the  rhymes  are  so  great  that  the  ear  can- 
not connect  them,  the  continuity  of  sound  is  interrupted.  Deco- 
ration must  rhyme  to  the  eye,  and  to  do  so  must  be  subject  to  the 
limitations  of  the  eye,  as  verse  is  subject  to  the  limitations  of  the 
ear.  Success  in  any  art  depends  on  a  due  regard  for  the  limitations 
of  the  sense  to  which  it  appeals. 

The  effect  of  a  perpetually  open  window,  produced  by  a  large 
sheet  of  plate-glass,  while  it  gives  a  sense  of  coolness  and  the 
impression  of  being  out  of  doors,  becomes  for  these  very  reasons 
a  disadvantage  in  cold  weather. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  the  architects  of  the  eighteenth  century 
would  have  used  large  plates  of  glass  in  their  windows  had 
they  been  able  to  obtain  them ;  but  as  such  plates  were  frequently 
used  for  mirrors,  it  is  evident  that  they  were  not  difficult  to  get. 


68  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

and  that  there  must  have  been  other  reasons  for  not  employing 
them  in  windows;  while  the  additional  expense  could  hardly 
have  been  an  obstacle  in  an  age  when  princes  and  nobles  built 
with  such  royal  disregard  of  cost.  The  French,  always  logical 
in  such  matters,  having  tried  the  effect  of  plate-glass,  are  now 
returning  to  the  old  fashion  of  smaller  panes;  and  in  many  of  the 
new  houses  in  Paris,  where  the  windows  at  first  contained  large 
plates  of  glass,  the  latter  have  since  been  subdivided  by  a  net- 
work of  narrow  mouldings  applied  to  the  glass. 

As  to  the  comparative  merits  of  French,  or  casement,  and 
sash  windows,  both  arrangements  have  certain  advantages.  In 
houses  built  in  the  French  or  Italian  style,  casement  windows 
are  best  adapted  to  the  general  treatment ;  while  the  sash-win- 
dow is  more  in  keeping  in  English  houses.  Perhaps  the  best 
way  of  deciding  the  question  is  to  remember  that  "les  fenetres 
sont  intimement  liees  aux  grandes  lignes  de  I'architecture,"  and 
to  conform  to  the  rule  suggested  by  this  axiom. 

The  two  common  objections  to  French  windows  —  that  they 
are  less  convenient  for  ventilation,  and  that  they  cannot  be  opened 
without  letting  in  cold  air  near  the  floor  —  are  both  unfounded. 
All  properly  made  French  windows  have  at  the  top  an  impost 
or  stationary  part  containing  small  panes,  one  of  which  is  made 
to  open,  thus  affording  perfect  ventilation  without  draught.  An- 
other expedient,  seen  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  Mesdames  de  France 
at  Versailles,  is  a  small  pane  in  the  main  part  of  the  window, 
opening  on  hinges  of  its  own.  (For  examples  of  well-designed 
French  windows,  see  Plates  XXX  and  XXXI.) 

Sash-windows  have  the  disadvantage  of  not  opening  more  than 
half-way,  a  serious  drawback  in  our  hot  summer  climate.  It  is 
often  said  that  French  windows  cannot  be  opened  wide  without 


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Windows  69 

interfering  with  the  curtains ;  but  this  difficulty  is  easily  met  by 
the  use  of  curtains  made  with  cords  and  pulleys,  in  the  sensible 
old-fashioned  manner.  The  real  purpose  of  the  window-curtain 
is  to  regulate  the  amount  of  light  admitted  to  the  room,  and  a 
curtain  so  arranged  that  it  cannot  be  drawn  backward  and  for- 
ward at  will  is  but  a  meaningless  accessory.  It  was  not  until  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century  that  curtains  were  used  without 
regard  to  their  practical  purpose.  The  window-hangings  of  the 
middle  ages  and  of  the  Renaissance  were  simply  straight  pieces 
of  cloth  or  tapestry  hung  across  the  window  without  any  attempt 
at  drapery,  and  regarded  not  as  part  of  the  decoration  of  the 
room,  but  as  a  necessary  protection  against  draughts.  It  is  proba- 
bly for  this  reason  that  in  old  prints  and  pictures  representing  the 
rooms  of  wealthy  people,  curtains  are  so  seldom  seen.  The  better 
the  house,  the  less  need  there  was  for  curtains.  In  the  engravings 
of  Abraham  Bosse,  which  so  faithfully  represent  the  interior  deco- 
ration of  every  class  of  French  house  during  the  reign  of  Louis 
XIll,  it  will  be  noticed  that  in  the  richest  apartments  there  are  no 
window-curtains.  In  all  the  finest  rooms  of  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries  the  inside  shutters  and  embrasures  of  the 
windows  were  decorated  with  a  care  which  proves  that  they 
were  not  meant  to  be  concealed  by  curtains  (see  the  painted 
embrasures  of  the  saloon  in  the  Villa  Vertemati,  Plate  XLIV). 
The  shutters  in  the  state  apartments  of  Fouquet's  chateau  of 
Vaux-le-Vicomte,  near  Melun,  are  painted  on  both  sides  with 
exquisite  arabesques;  while  those  in  the  apartments  of  Mesdames 
de  France,  on  the  ground  floor  of  the  palace  of  Versailles,  are 
examples  of  the  most  beautiful  carving.  In  fact,  it  would  be  more 
difficult  to  cite  a  room  of  any  importance  in  which  the  windows 
were  not  so  treated,  than  to  go  on  enumerating  examples  of  what 


70  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

was  really  a  universal  custom  until  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century.  It  is  known,  of  course,  that  curtains  were  used  in 
former  times:  prints,  pictures  and  inventories  alike  prove  this 
fact;  but  the  care  expended  on  the  decorative  treatment  of  win- 
dows makes  it  plain  that  the  curtain,  like  the  portiere,  was  regarded 
as  a  necessary  evil  rather  than  as  part  of  the  general  scheme  of  dec- 
oration. The  meagreness  and  simplicity  of  the  curtains  in  old 
pictures  prove  that  they  were  used  merely  as  window  shades  or 
sun-blinds.  The  scant  straight  folds  pushed  back  from  the  tall 
windows  of  the  Prince  de  Conti's  salon,  in  Olivier's  charming 
picture  of  "Le  Th6  a  I'Anglaise  chez  le  Prince  de  Conti,"  are  as 
obviously  utilitarian  as  the  strip  of  green  woollen  stuff  hanging 
against  the  leaded  casement  of  the  mediaeval  bed-chamber  in  Car- 
paccio's  "Dream  of  St.  Ursula." 

Another  way  of  hanging  window-curtains  in  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries  was  to  place  them  inside  the  architrave, 
so  that  they  did  not  conceal  it.  The  architectural  treatment  of 
the  trim,  and  the  practice  prevalent  at  that  period  of  carrying  the 
windows  up  to  the  cornice,  made  this  a  satisfactory  way  of  ar- 
ranging the  curtain;  but  in  the  modern  American  house,  where 
the  trim  is  usually  bad,  and  where  there  is  often  a  dreary  waste 
of  wall-paper  between  the  window  and  the  ceiling,  it  is  better 
to  hang  the  curtains  close  under  the  cornice. 

It  was  not  until  the  eighteenth  century  that  the  window-cur- 
tain was  divided  in  the  middle;  and  this  change  was  intended 
only  to  facilitate  the  drawing  of  the  hangings,  which,  owing  to 
the  increased  size  of  the  windows,  were  necessarily  wider  and 
heavier.  The  curtain  continued  to  hang  down  in  straight  folds, 
pulled  back  at  will  to  permit  the  opening  of  the  window,  and 
drawn  at  night.      Fixed  window-draperies,  with  festoons  and 


Windows  71 

folds  so  arranged  that  they  cannot  be  lowered  or  raised,  are  an 
invention  of  the  modern  upholsterer.  Not  only  have  these  fixed 
draperies  done  away  with  the  true  purpose  of  the  curtain,  but 
they  have  made  architects  and  decorators  careless  in  their  treat- 
ment of  openings.  The  architrave  and  embrasure  of  a  window 
are  now  regarded  as  of  no  more  importance  in  the  decorative 
treatment  of  a  room  than  the  inside  of  the  chimney. 

The  modern  use  of  the  lambrequin  as  an  ornamental  finish  to 
window-curtains  is  another  instance  of  misapplied  decoration. 
Its  history  is  easy  to  trace.  The  mediaeval  bed  was  always  en- 
closed in  curtains  hanging  from  a  wooden  framework,  and  the 
lambrequin  was  used  as  a  kind  of  cornice  to  conceal  it.  When 
the  use  of  gathered  window-shades  became  general  in  Italy,  the 
lambrequin  was  transferred  from  the  bed  to  the  window,  in 
order  to  hide  the  clumsy  bunches  of  folds  formed  by  these  shades 
when  drawn  up.  In  old  prints,  lambrequins  over  windows  are 
almost  always  seen  in  connection  with  Italian  shades,  and  this  is 
the  only  logical  way  of  using  them  ;  though  they  are  often  of 
service  in  concealing  the  defects  of  badly-shaped  windows  and 
unarchitectural  trim. 

Those  who  criticize  the  architects  and  decorators  of  the  past  are 
sometimes  disposed  to  think  that  they  worked  in  a  certain  way 
because  they  were  too  ignorant  to  devise  a  better  method  ; 
whereas  they  were  usually  controlled  by  practical  and  artistic 
considerations  which  their  critics  are  prone  to  disregard,  not  only 
in  judging  the  work  of  the  past,  but  in  the  attempt  to  make  good 
its  deficiencies.  Thus  the  cabinet-makers  of  the  Renaissance  did 
not  make  straight-backed  wooden  chairs  because  they  were  in- 
capable of  imagining  anything  more  comfortable,  but  because 
the  former  were  better  adapted   than   cushioned   arm-chairs  to 


72  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

the  d^placements  so  frequent  at  that  period.  In  like  manner,  the 
decorator  who  regarded  curtains  as  a  necessity  rather  than  as 
part  of  the  decoration  of  the  room  knew  (what  the  modern  up- 
holsterer fails  to  understand)  that,  the  beauty  of  a  room  depend- 
ing chiefly  on  its  openings,  to  conceal  these  under  draperies  is  to 
hide  the  key  of  the  whole  decorative  scheme. 

The  muslin  window-curtain  is  a  recent  innovation.  Its  only 
purpose  is  to  protect  the  interior  of  the  room  from  public  view : 
a  need  not  felt  before  the  use  of  large  sheets  of  glass,  since  it  is 
difficult  to  look  through  a  subdivided  sash  from  the  outside. 
Under  such  circumstances  muslin  curtains  are,  of  course,  useful; 
but  where  they  may  be  dispensed  with,  owing  to  the  situation 
of  the  room  or  the  subdivision  of  panes,  they  are  no  loss.  Lin- 
gerie effects  do  not  combine  well  with  architecture,  and  the  more 
architecturally  a  window  is  treated,  the  less  it  need  be  dressed  up 
in  ruffles.  To  put  such  curtains  in  a  window,  and  then  loop  them 
back  so  that  they  form  a  mere  frame  to  the  pane,  is  to  do  away 
with  their  real  purpose,  and  to  substitute  a  textile  for  an  archi- 
tectural effect.  Where  muslin  curtains  are  necessary,  they  should 
be  a  mere  transparent  screen  hung  against  the  glass.  In  town 
houses  especially  all  outward  show  of  richness  should  be 
avoided;  the  use  of  elaborate  lace-figured  curtains,  besides 
obstructing  the  view,  seems  an  attempt  to  protrude  the  luxury 
of  the  interior  upon  the  street.  It  is  needless  to  point  out  the 
futility  of  the  second  layer  of  muslin  which,  in  some  houses, 
hangs  inside  the  sash-curtains. 

The  solid  inside  shutter,  now  so  generally  discarded,  save  in 
France,  formerly  served  the  purposes  for  jvhich  curtains  and 
shades  are  used,  and,  combined  with  outside  blinds,  afforded  all 
the  protection  that  a  window  really  requires  (see  Plate  XIX). 


Windows  73 

These  shutters  should  be  made  with  solid  panels,  not  with  slats, 
their  purpose  being  to  darken  the  room  and  keep  out  the  cold, 
while  the  light  is  regulated  by  the  outside  blinds.  The  best 
of  these  is  the  old-fashioned  hand-made  blind,  with  wide  fixed 
slats,  still  to  be  seen  on  old  New  England  houses  and  always 
used  in  France  and  Italy  :  the  frail  machine-made  substitute 
now  in  general  use  has  nothing  to  recommend  it 


VI 
FIREPLACES 

THE  fireplace  was  formerly  always  regarded  as  the  chief 
feature  of  the  room,  and  so  treated  in  every  well-thought- 
out  scheme  of  decoration. 

The  practical  reasons  which  make  it  important  that  the  win- 
dows in  a  room  should  be  carried  up  to  the  cornice  have  already 
been  given,  and  it  has  been  shown  that  the  lines  of  the  other 
openings  should  be  extended  to  the  same  height.  This  applies 
to  fireplaces  as  well  as  to  doors,  and,  indeed,  as  an  architectural 
principle  concerning  all  kinds  of  openings,  it  has  never  been 
questioned  until  the  present  day.  The  hood  of  the  vast  Gothic 
fireplace  always  descended  from  the  springing  of  the  vaulted  roof, 
and  the  monumental  chimney-pieces  of  the  Renaissance  followed 
the  same  lines  (see  Plate  XX).  The  importance  of  giving  an 
architectural  character  to  the  chimney-piece  is  insisted  on  by 
Blondel,  whose  remark,  "Je  voudrais  n'appliquer  a  une  che- 
minee  que  des  ornements  convenables  a  I'architecture,"  is  a 
valuable  axiom  for  the  decorator.  It  is  a  mistake  to  think  that 
this  treatment  necessitates  a  large  mantel-piece  and  a  monumental 
style  of  panelling.  The  smallest  mantel,  surmounted  by  a  picture 
or  a  mirror  set  in  simple  mouldings,  may  be  as  architectural  as  the 
great  chimney-pieces  at  Urbino  or  Cheverny:  all  depends  on  the 

74 


PLATE  XX. 


MANTELPIECE  IN  DUCAL  PALACE,  URBINO. 

XV   CENTURY. 
(transition    between   GOTHIC   AND    RENAISSANCE.) 


Fireplaces  y^ 

spirit  of  the  treatment  and  on  the  proper  relation  of  the  different 
members  used.  Pajou's  monument  to  Madame  du  Barry's  canary- 
bird  is  far  more  architectural  than  the  Albert  Memorial. 

When,  in  the  middle  ages,  the  hearth  in  the  centre  of  the  room 
was  replaced  by  the  wall-chimney,  the  fireplace  was  invariably 
constructed  with  a  projecting  hood  of  brick  or  stone,  generally 
semicircular  in  shape,  designed  to  carry  off  the  smoke  which  in 
earlier  times  had  escaped  through  a  hole  in  the  roof.  The  opening 
of  the  fireplace,  at  first  of  moderate  dimensions,  was  gradually  en- 
larged to  an  enormous  size,  from  the  erroneous  idea  that  the  larger 
the  fire  the  greater  would  be  the  warmth  of  the  room.  By  degrees 
it  was  discovered  that  the  effect  of  the  volume  of  heat  projected 
into  the  room  was  counteracted  by  the  strong  draught  and  by  the 
mass  of  cold  air  admitted  through  the  huge  chimney;  and  to  ob- 
viate this  difficulty  iron  doors  were  placed  in  the  opening  and  kept 
closed  when  the  fire  was  not  burning  (see  Plate  XXI).  But  this 
was  only  a  partial  remedy,  and  in  time  it  was  found  expedient  to 
reduce  the  size  of  both  chimney  and  fireplace. 

In  Italy  the  strong  feeling  for  architectural  lines  and  the  invari- 
able exercise  of  common  sense  in  construction  soon  caused  the 
fireplace  to  be  sunk  into  the  wall,  thus  ridding  the  room  of  the 
Gothic  hood,  while  the  wall-space  above  the  opening  received  a 
treatment  of  panelling,  sometimes  enclosed  in  pilasters,  and  usually 
crowned  by  an  entablature  and  pediment.  When  the  chimney 
was  not  sunk  in  the  wall,  the  latter  was  brought  forward  around 
the  opening,  thus  forming  a  flat  chimney-breast  to  which  the  same 
style  of  decoration  could  be  applied.  This  projection  was  seldom 
permitted  in  Italy,  where  the  thickness  of  the  walls  made  it  easy 
to  sink  the  fireplace,  while  an  unerring  feeling  for  form  rejected 
the  advancing  chimney-breast  as  a  needless  break  in  the  wall-sur- 


76  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

face  of  the  room.  In  France,  where  Gothic  methods  of  construc- 
tion persisted  so  long  after  the  introduction  of  classic  ornament, 
the  habit  of  building  out  the  chimney-breast  continued  until  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  even  a  hundred  years  later  French  deco- 
rators described  the  plan  of  sinking  the  fireplace  into  the  thickness 
of  the  wall  as  the  "Italian  manner."  The  thinness  of  modern 
walls  has  made  the  projecting  chimney-breast  a  structural  neces- 
sity; but  the  composition  of  the  room  is  improved  by  "furring 
out"  the  wall  on  each  side  of  the  fireplace  in  such  a  way  as  to 
conceal  the  projection  and  obviate  a  break  in  the  wall-space. 
Where  the  room  is  so  small  that  every  foot  of  space  is  valuable, 
a  niche  may  be  formed  in  either  angle  of  the  chimney-breast,  thus 
preserving  the  floor-space  which  would  be  sacrificed  by  advan- 
cing the  wall,  and  yet  avoiding  the  necessity  of  a  break  in  the 
cornice.  The  Italian  plan  of  panelling  the  space  between  mantel 
and  cornice  continued  in  favor,  with  various  modifications,  until 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  In  early  Italian  Renaissance 
over-mantels  the  central  panel  was  usually  filled  by  a  bas-relief; 
but  in  the  sixteenth  century  this  was  frequently  replaced  by  a 
picture,  not  hung  on  the  panelling,  but  forming  a  part  of  it.^  In 
France  the  sculptured  over-mantel  followed  the  same  general  lines 
of  development,  though  the  treatment,  until  the  time  of  Louis 
XIII,  showed  traces  of  the  Gothic  tendency  to  overload  with  orna- 
ment without  regard  to  unity  of  design,  so  that  the  main  lines  of 
the  composition  were  often  lost  under  a  mass  of  ill-combined 
detail. 

1  In  Italy,  where  the  walls  were  frescoed,  the  architectural  composition  over  the 
mantel  was  also  frequently  painted.  Examples  of  this  are  to  be  seen  at  the  Villa 
Vertemati,  near  Chiavenna,  and  at  the  Villa  Giacomelli,  at  Maser,  near  Treviso. 
This  practice  accounts  for  the  fact  that  in  many  old  architectural  drawings  of  Italian 
interiors  a  blank  wall-space  is  seen  over  the  mantel. 


Fireplaces  'jj 

In  Italy  the  early  Renaissance  mantels  were  usually  of  marble. 
French  mantels  of  the  same  period  were  of  stone ;  but  this  mate- 
rial was  so  unsuited  to  the  elaborate  sculpture  then  in  fashion 
that  wood  was  sometimes  used  instead.  For  a  season  richly  carved 
wooden  chimney-pieces,  covered  with  paint  and  gilding,  were  in 
favor;  but  when  the  first  marble  mantels  were  brought  from  Italy, 
that  sense  of  fitness  in  the  use  of  material  for  which  the  French 
have  always  been  distinguished,  led  them  to  recognize  the  superi- 
ority of  marble,  and  the  wooden  mantel-piece  was  discarded :  nor 
has  it  since  been  used  in  France. 

With  the  seventeenth  century,  French  mantel-pieces  became 
more  architectural  in  design  and  less  florid  in  ornament,  and  the 
ponderous  hood  laden  with  pinnacles,  escutcheons,  fortified  cas- 
tles and  statues  of  saints  and  warriors,  was  replaced  by  a  more 
severe  decoration. 

Thackeray's  gibe  at  Louis  XIV  and  his  age  has  so  long  been 
accepted  by  the  English-speaking  races  as  a  serious  estimate  of 
the  period,  that  few  now  appreciate  the  artistic  preponderance 
of  France  in  the  seventeenth  century.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  to 
the  schools  of  art  founded  by  Louis  XIV  and  to  his  magnificent 
patronage  of  the  architects  and  decorators  trained  in  these  schools 
that  we  owe  the  preservation,  in  northern  Europe,  of  that  sense 
of  form  and  spirit  of  moderation  which  mark  the  great  classic  tra- 
dition. To  disparage  the  work  of  men  like  Levau,  Mansart,  de 
Cotte  and  Lebrun,  shows  an  insufficient  understanding,  not  only 
of  what  they  did,  but  of  the  inheritance  of  confused  and  turgid 
ornament  from  which  they  freed  French  art.^  Whether  our  indi- 
vidual tastes  incline  us  to  the  Gothic  or  to  the  classic  style,  it  is 

1  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  recently  published  English  translation  of  M.  Emile 
Bourgeois's  book  on  Louis  XIV  will  do  much  to  remove  this  prejudice. 


78  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

easy  to  see  that  a  school  which  tried  to  combine  the  structure  of  the 
one  with  the  ornament  of  the  other  was  likely  to  fall  into  incohe- 
rent modes  of  expression ;  and  this  was  precisely  what  happened 
to  French  domestic  architecture  at  the  end  of  the  Renaissance 
period.  It  has  been  the  fashion  to  describe  the  art  of  the  Louis 
XIV  period  as  florid  and  bombastic;  but  a  comparison  of  the  de- 
signs of  Philibert  de  Lorme  and  Androuet  Ducerceau  with  those 
of  such  men  as  Levau  and  Robert  de  Cotte  will  show  that  what 
the  latter  did  was  not  to  introduce  a  florid  and  bombastic  manner, 
but  to  discard  it  for  what  Viollet-le-Duc,  who  will  certainly  not 
be  suspected  of  undue  partiality  for  this  school  of  architects,  calls 
"une  grandeur  solide,  sans  faux  ornements."  No  better  illustra- 
tion of  this  can  be  obtained  than  by  comparing  the  mantel-pieces 
of  the  respective  periods.*  The  Louis  XIV  mantel-pieces  are  much 
simpler  and  more  coherent  in  design.  The  caryatides  supporting 
the  entablature  above  the  opening  of  the  earlier  mantels,  and  the 
full-length  statues  flanking  the  central  panel  of  the  over-mantel, 
are  replaced  by  massive  and  severe  mouldings  of  the  kind  which 
the  French  call  mdle  (see  mantels  in  Plates  V  and  XXXVl). 
Above  the  entablature  there  is  usually  a  kind  of  attic  or  high  con- 
cave member  of  marble,  often  fluted,  and  forming  a  ledge  or  shelf 
just  wide  enough  to  carry  the  row  of  porcelain  vases  with  which 
it  had  become  the  fashion  to  adorn  the  mantel.  These  vases,  and 
the  bas-relief  or  picture  occupying  the  central  panel  above,  form 
the  chief  ornament  of  the  chimney-piece,  though  occasionally  the 
crowning  member  of  the  over-mantel  is  treated  with  a  decoration 
of  garlands,  masks,  trophies  or  other  strictly  architectural  orna- 

1  It  is  curious  that  those  who  criticize  the  ornateness  of  the  Louis  XIV  style  are 
often  the  warmest  admirers  of  the  French  Renaissance,  the  style  of  all  others  most  re- 
markable for  its  excessive  use  of  ornament,  exquisite  in  itself,  but  quite  unrelated  to 
structure  and  independent  of  general  design. 


PLATE  XXI. 


MANTELPIECE  IN  THE  VILLA  GIACOMELLI, 

at  maser.  near  treviso.     xvi  century. 

(showing  iron  doors  in  opening.) 


Fiicplaces  79 

ment,  while  in  Italy  and  England  the  broken  pediment  is  fre- 
quently employed.  The  use  of  a  mirror  over  the  fireplace  is  said 
to  have  originated  with  Mansart;  but  according  to  Blondel  it  was 
Robert  de  Cotte  who  brought  about  this  innovation,  thus  produc- 
ing an  immediate  change  in  the  general  scheme  of  composition. 
The  French  were  far  too  logical  not  to  see  the  absurdity  of  placing 
a  mirror  too  high  to  be  looked  into;  and  the  concave  Louis  XIV 
member,  which  had  raised  the  mantel-shelf  six  feet  from  the  floor, 
was  removed  ^  and  the  shelf  placed  directly  over  the  entablature. 

Somewhat  later  the  introduction  of  clocks  and  candelabra  as 
mantel  ornaments  made  it  necessary  to  widen  the  shelf,  and  this 
further  modified  the  general  design;  while  the  suites  of  small 
rooms  which  had  come  into  favor  under  the  Regent  led  to  a  re- 
duction in  the  size  of  mantel-pieces,  and  to  the  use  of  less  massive 
and  perhaps  less  architectural  ornament. 

In  the  eighteenth  century,  mantel-pieces  in  Italy  and  France 
were  almost  always  composed  of  a  marble  or  stone  architrave 
surmounted  by  a  shelf  of  the  same  material,  while  the  over- 
mantel consisted  of  a  mirror,  framed  in  mouldings  varying  in 
design  from  the  simplest  style  to  the  most  ornate.  This  over- 
mantel, which  was  either  of  the  exact  width  of  the  mantel-shelf 
or  some  few  inches  narrower,  ended  under  the  cornice,  and  its 
upper  part  was  usually  decorated  in  the  same  way  as  the  over- 
doors  in  the  room.  If  these  contained  paintings,  a  picture  carry- 
ing out  the  same  scheme  of  decoration  was  often  placed  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  over-mantel ;  or  the  ornaments  of  carved  wood 
or  stucco  filling  the  panels  over  the  doors  were  repeated  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  mirror-frame. 

1  It  is  said  to  have  been  put  at  this  height  in  order  that  the  porcelain  vases  should 
be  out  of  reach.     See  Daviler,  "  Cours  d'Architecture." 


8q  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

In  France,  mirrors  had  by  this  time  replaced  pictures  in  the  cen- 
tral panel  of  the  over-mantel;  but  in  Italian  decoration  of  the 
same  period  oval  pictures  were  often  applied  to  the  centre  of  the 
mirror,  with  delicate  lines  of  ornament  connecting  the  picture  and 
mirror  frames.^ 

The  earliest  fireplaces  were  lined  with  stone  or  brick,  but  in 
the  sixteenth  century  the  more  practical  custom  of  using  iron 
fire-backs  was  introduced.  At  first  this  fire-back  consisted  of  a 
small  plaque  of  iron,  shaped  like  a  headstone,  and  fixed  at  the 
back  of  the  fireplace,  where  the  brick  or  stone  was  most  likely 
to  be  calcined  by  the  fire.  When  chimney-building  became  more 
scientific,  the  size  of  the  fireplace  was  reduced,  and  the  sides  of 
the  opening  were  brought  much  nearer  the  flame,  thus  making  it 
necessary  to  extend  the  fire-back  into  a  lining  for  the  whole  fire- 
place. 

It  was  soon  seen  that  besides  resisting  the  heat  better  than  any 
other  substance,  the  iron  lining  served  to  radiate  it  into  the  room. 
The  iron  back  consequently  held  its  own  through  every  subse- 
quent change  in  the  treatment  of  the  fireplace;  and  the  recent 
return,  in  England  and  America,  to  brick  or  stone  is  probably  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  modern  iron  lining  is  seldom  well  designed. 
Iron  backs  were  adopted  because  they  served  their  purpose  better 
than  any  others ;  and  as  no  new  substance  offering  greater  advan- 
tages has  since*  been  discovered,  there  is  no  reason  for  discarding 
them,  especially  as  they  are  not  only  more  practical  but  more 
decorative  than  any  other  lining.  The  old  fire-backs  (of  which 
reproductions  are  readily  obtained)  were  decorated  with  charm- 
ing bas-reliefs,  and  their  dark  bosses,  in  the  play  of  the  firelight, 

1  Examples  are  to  be  seen  in  several  rooms  of  the  hunting-lodge  of  the  kings  of 
Savoy,  at  Stupinigi,  near  Turin. 


Fireplaces  8 1 

form  a  more  expressive  background  than  the  dead  and  unrespon- 
sive surface  of  brick  or  stone. 

It  was  not  uncommon  in  England  to  treat  the  mantel  as  an 
order  crowned  by  its  entablature.  Where  this  was  done,  an  in- 
termediate space  was  left  between  mantel  and  over-mantel,  an 
arrangement  which  somewhat  weakened  the  architectural  effect. 
A  better  plan  was  that  of  surmounting  the  entablature  with  an 
attic,  and  making  the  over-mantel  spring  directly  from  the  latter. 
Fine  examples  of  this  are  seen  at  Holkham,  built  by  Brettingham 
for  the  Earl  of  Leicester  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century. 

The  English  fireplace  was  modified  at  the  end  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  when  coal  began  to  replace  wood.  Chippendale 
gives  many  designs  for  beautiful  basket-grates,  such  as  were  set 
in  the  large  firepliaces  originally  intended  for  wood;  for  it  was 
not  until  later  that  chimneys  with  smaller  openings  were  specially 
constructed  to  receive  the  fixed  grate  and  the  hob-grate. 

It  was  in  England  that  the  architectural  treatment  of  the  over- 
mantel was  first  abandoned.  The  use  of  a  mirror  framed  in  a 
panel  over  the  fireplace  had  never  become  general  in  England, 
and  toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  mantel-piece 
was  frequently  surmounted  by  a  blank  wall-space,  on  which  a 
picture  or  a  small  round  mirror  was  hung  high  above  the  shelf 
(see  Plate  XLVll).  Examples  are  seen  in  Morefend's  pictures, 
and  in  prints  of  simple  eighteenth-century  English  interiors;  but 
this  treatment  is  seldom  found  in  rooms  of  any  architectural 
pretensions. 

The  early  American  fireplace  was  merely  a  cheap  provincial 
copy  of  English  models  of  the  same  period.  The  application  of 
the  word  "Colonial"  to  pre- Revolutionary  architecture  and  deco- 


82  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

ration  has  created  a  vague  impression  that  there  existed  at  that 
time  an  American  architectural  style.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  "Colo- 
nial" architecture  is  simply  a  modest  copy  of  Georgian  models; 
and  "Colonial"  mantel-pieces  were  either  imported  from  England 
by  those  who  could  afford  it,  or  were  reproduced  in  wood  from 
current  English  designs.  Wooden  mantels  were,  indeed,  not 
unknown  in  England,  where  the  use  of  a  wooden  architrave 
led  to  the  practice  of  facing  the  fireplace  with  Dutch  tiles;  but 
wood  was  used,  both  in  England  and  America,  only  from  motives 
of  cheapness,  and  the  architrave  was  set  back  from  the  opening 
only  because  it  was  unsafe  to  put  an  inflammable  material  so  near 
the  fire. 

After  1800  all  the  best  American  houses  contained  imported 
marble  mantel-pieces.  These  usually  consisted  of  an  entablature 
resting  on  columns  or  caryatides,  with  a  frieze  in  low  relief 
representing  some  classic  episode,  or  simply  ornamented  with 
bucranes  and  garlands.  In  the  general  decline  of  taste  which 
marked  the  middle  of  the  present  century,  these  dignified  and 
well-designed  mantel-pieces  were  replaced  by  marble  arches  con- 
taining a  fixed  grate.  The  hideousness  of  this  arched  opening 
soon  produced  a  distaste  for  marble  mantels  in  the  minds  of  a 
generation  unacquainted  with  the  early  designs.  This  distaste  led 
to  a  reaction  in  favor  of  wood,  resulting  in  the  displacement  of 
the  architrave  and  the  facing  of  the  space  between  architrave  and 
opening  with  tiles,  iron  or  marble. 

People  are  beginning  to  see  that  the  ugliness  of  the  marble 
mantel-pieces  of  1840-60  does  not  prove  that  wood  is  the  more 
suitable  material  to  employ.  There  is  indeed  something  of  un- 
fitness in  the  use  of  an  inflammable  material  surrounding  a  fire- 
place.    Everything  about  the  hearth  should  not  only  be,  but  look, 


Fireplaces  83 

fire-proof.  The  chief  objection  to  wood  is  that  its  use  neces- 
sitates the  displacement  of  the  architrave,  thus  leaving  a  flat  in- 
termediate space  to  be  faced  with  some  fire-proof  material.  This 
is  an  architectural  fault.  A  door  of  which  the  architrave  should 
be  set  back  eighteen  inches  or  more  to  admit  of  a  facing  of  tiles 
or  marble  would  be  pronounced  unarchitectural;  and  it  is  usually 
admitted  that  all  classes  of  openings  should  be  subject  to  the 
same  general  treatment. 

Where  the  mantel-piece  is  of  wood,  the  setting  back  of  the  ar- 
chitrave is  a  necessity ;  but,  curiously  enough,  the  practice  has  be- 
come so  common  in  England  and  America  that  even  where  the 
mantel  is  made  of  marble  or  stone  it  is  set  back  in  the  same  way; 
so  that  it  is  unusual  to  see  a  modern  fireplace  in  which  the  archi- 
trave defines  the  opening.  In  France,  also,  the  use  of  an  inner 
facing  (called  a  retrecissement)  has  become  common,  probably 
because  such  a  device  makes  it  possible  to  use  less  fuel,  while  not 
disturbing  the  proportions  of  the  mantel  as  related  to  the  room. 

The  reaction  from  the  bare  stiff  rooms  of  the  first  quarter  of  the 
present  century  —  the  era  of  mahogany  and  horsehair  —  resulted, 
some  twenty  years  since,  in  a  general  craving  for  knick-knacks; 
and  the  latter  soon  spread  from  the  tables  to  the  mantel,  espe- 
cially in  England  and  America,  where  the  absence  of  the  architec- 
tural over-mantel  left  a  bare  expanse  of  wall  above  the  chimney- 
piece. 

The  use  of  the  mantel  as  a  bric-^-brac  shelf  led  in  time  to  the 
lengthening  and  widening  of  this  shelf,  and  in  consequence  to  the 
enlargement  of  the  whole  chimney-piece. 

Mantels  which  in  the  eighteenth  century  would  have  been 
thought  in  scale  with  rooms  of  certain  dimensions  would  now 
be  considered  too  small  and  insignificant.     The  use  of  large  man- 


84  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

tel-pieces,  besides  throwing  everything  in  the  room  out  of  scale,  is 
a  structural  mistake,  since  the  excessive  projection  of  the  mantel 
has  a  tendency  to  make  the  fire  smoke;  indeed,  the  proportions 
of  the  old  mantels,  far  from  being  arbitrary,  were  based  as  much 
on  practical  as  on  artistic  considerations.  Moreover,  the  use  of 
long,  wide  shelves  has  brought  about  the  accumulation  of  super- 
fluous knick-knacks,  whereas  a  smaller  mantel,  if  architecturally 
designed,  would  demand  only  its  conventional  garniture  of  clock 
and  candlesticks. 

The  device  of  concealing  an  ugly  mantel-piece  by  folds  of  dra- 
pery brings  an  inflammable  substance  so  close  to  the  fire  that 
there  is  a  suggestion  of  danger  even  where  there  is  no  actual  risk. 
The  lines  of  a  mantel,  however  bad,  represent  some  kind  of  solid 
architrave, — a  more  suitable  setting  for  an  architectural  opening 
than  flimsy  festoons  of  brocade  or  plush.  Any  one  who  can 
afford  to  replace  an  ugly  chimney-piece  by  one  of  good  design 
will  find  that  this  change  does  more  than  any  other  to  improve 
the  appearance  of  a  room.  Where  a  badly  designed  mantel  can- 
not be  removed,  the  best  plan  is  to  leave  it  unfurbelowed,  simply 
placing  above  it  a  mirror  or  panel  to  connect  the  lines  of  the 
opening  with  the  cornice. 

The  effect  of  a  fireplace  depends  much  upon  the  good  taste  and 
appropriateness  of  its  accessories.  Little  attention  is  paid  at  pres- 
ent to  the  design  and  workmanship  of  these  and  like  necessary 
appliances;  yet  if  good  of  their  kind  they  add  more  to  the  adorn- 
ment of  a  room  than  a  multiplicity  of  useless  knick-knacks. 

Andirons  should  be  of  wrought-iron,  bronze  or  ormolu.  Sub- 
stances which  require  constant  polishing,  such  as  steel  or  brass, 
are  unfitted  to  a  fireplace.  It  is  no  longer  easy  to  buy  the  old 
bronze  andirons  of  French  or  Italian  design,  with  pedestals  sur- 


Fireplaces  85 

mounted  by  statuettes  of  nymph  or  faun,  to  which  time  has 
given  the  iridescence  that  modern  bronze-workers  vainly  try  to 
reproduce  with  varnish.  These  bronzes,  and  the  old  ormolu 
andirons,  are  now  almost  introuvables ;  but  the  French  artisan 
still  copies  the  old  models  with  fair  success  (see  Plates  V  and 
XXXVI).  Andirons  should  not  only  harmonize  with  the  design 
of  the  mantel  but  also  be  in  scale  with  its  dimensions.  In  the 
fireplace  of  a  large  drawing-room,  boudoir  andirons  would  look 
insignificant;  while  the  monumental  Renaissance  fire-dogs  would 
dwarf  a  small  mantel  and  make  its  ornamentation  trivial. 

If  andirons  are  gilt,  they  should  be  of  ormolu.  The  cheaper 
kinds  of  gilding  are  neither  durable  nor  good  in  tone,  and  plain 
iron  is  preferable  to  anything  but  bronze  or  fire-gilding.  The 
design  of  shovel  and  tongs  should  accord  with  that  of  the  andi- 
rons: in  France  such  details  are  never  disregarded.  The  shovel 
and  tongs  should  be  placed  upright  against  the  mantel-piece,  or 
rest  upon  hooks  inserted  in  the  architrave :  the  brass  or  gilt  stands 
now  in  use  are  seldom  well  designed.  Fenders,  being  merely 
meant  to  protect  the  floor  from  sparks,  should  be  as  light  and 
easy  to  handle  as  possible :  the  folding  fender  of  wire-netting  is 
for  this  reason  preferable  to  any  other,  since  it  may  be  shut  and 
put  away  when  not  in  use.  The  low  guards  of  solid  brass  in 
favor  in  England  and  America  not  only  fail  to  protect  the  floor, 
but  form  a  permanent  barrier  between  the  fire  and  those  who 
wish  to  approach  it;  and  the  latter  objection  applies  also  to  the 
massive  folding  fender  that  is  too  heavy  to  be  removed. 

Coal-scuttles,  like  andirons,  should  be  made  of  bronze,  ormolu 
or  iron.  The  unnecessary  use  of  substances  which  require  con- 
stant polishing  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  English  and  American 
housekeeping:  it  is  difficult  to  see  why  a  housemaid  should  spend 


86  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

hours  in  polishing  brass  or  steel  fenders,  andirons,  coal-scuttles 
and  door-knobs,  when  all  these  articles  might  be  made  of  some 
substance  that  does  not  need  daily  cleaning. 

Where  wood  is  burned,  no  better  wood-box  can  be  found  than 
an  old  carved  chest,  either  one  of  the  Italian  cassoni,  with  their 
painted  panels  and  gilded  volutes,  or  a  plain  box  of  oak  or  walnut 
with  well-designed  panels  and  old  iron  hasps.  The  best  substi- 
tute for  such  a  chest  is  a  plain  wicker  basket,  without  ornamen- 
tation, enamel  paint  or  gilding.  If  an  article  of  this  kind  is  not 
really  beautiful,  it  had  better  be  as  obviously  utilitarian  as  possible 
in  design  and  construction. 

A  separate  chapter  might  be  devoted  to  the  fire-screen,  with  its 
carved  frame  and  its  panel  of  tapestry,  needlework,  or  painted 
arabesques.  Of  all  the  furniture  of  the  hearth,  it  is  that  upon 
which  most  taste  and  variety  of  invention  have  been  spent;  and 
any  of  the  numerous  French  works  on  furniture  and  house-deco- 
ration will  supply  designs  which  the  modern  decorator  might 
successfully  reproduce  (see  Plate  XXll).  So  large  is  the  field 
from  which  he  may  select  his  models,  that  it  is  perhaps  more  to 
the  purpose  to  touch  upon  the  styles  of  fire-screens  to  be  avoided : 
such  as  the  colossal  brass  or  ormolu  fan,  the  stained-glass  screen, 
the  embroidered  or  painted  banner  suspended  on  a  gilt  rod,  or  the 
stuffed  bird  spread  out  in  a  broiled  attitude  against  a  plush 
background. 

In  connection  with  the  movable  fire-screen,  a  word  may  be 
said  of  the  fire-boards  which,  until  thirty  or  forty  years  ago,  were 
used  to  close  the  opening  of  the  fireplace  in  summer.  These  fire- 
boards  are  now  associated  with  old-fashioned  boarding-house 
parlors,  where  they  are  still  sometimes  seen,  covered  with  a 
paper  like  that  on  the  walls,  and  looking  ugly  enough  to  justify 


PLATE  XXII. 


FRENCH  FIRE-SCREEN,  LOUIS  XIV  PERIOD. 

FROM  THE  CHATEAU  OF  ANET. 


Fireplaces  87 

their  disuse.  The  old  fire-boards  were  very  different:  in  looms 
of  any  importance  they  were  beautifully  decorated,  and  in  Italian 
interiors,  where  the  dado  was  often  painted,  the  same  decoration 
was  continued  on  the  fire-boards.  Sometimes  the  latter  were 
papered;  but  the  paper  used  was  designed  expressly  for  the  pur- 
pose, with  a  decorative  composition  of  flowers,  landscapes,  or 
the  ever-amusing  chinoiseries  on  which  the  eighteenth-century 
designer  played  such  endless  variations. 

Whether  the  fireplace  in  summer  should  be  closed  by  a  board, 
or  left  open,  with  the  logs  laid  on  the  irons,  is  a  question  for  indi- 
vidual taste;  but  it  is  certain  that  if  the  painted  fire-board  were 
revived,  it  might  form  a  very  pleasing  feature  in  the  decoration  of 
modern  rooms.  The  only  possible  objection  to  its  use  is  that  it 
interferes  with  ventilation  by  closing  the  chimney-opening;  but 
as  fire-boards  are  used  only  at  a  season  when  all  the  windows  are 
open,  this  drawback  is  hardly  worth  considering. 

In  spite  of  the  fancied  advancement  in  refinement  and  luxury 
of  living,  the  development  of  the  modern  heating  apparatus  seems 
likely,  especially  in  America,  to  do  away  with  the  open  fire. 
The  temperature  maintained  in  most  American  houses  by  means 
of  hot-air  or  hot-water  pipes  is  so  high  that  even  the  slight  addi- 
tional warmth  of  a  wood  fire  would  be  unendurable.  Still  there 
are  a  few  exceptions  to  this  rule,  and  in  some  houses  the  healthy 
glow  of  open  fires  is  preferred  to  the  parching  atmosphere  of 
steam.  Indeed,  it  might  almost  be  said  that  the  good  taste  and 
savoir-vtvre  of  the  inmates  of  a  house  may  be  guessed  from  the 
means  used  for  heating  it.  Old  pictures,  old  furniture  and  fine 
bindings  cannot  live  in  a  furnace-baked  atmosphere;  and  those 
who  possess  such  treasures  and  know  their  value  have  an  ad- 
ditional motive  for  keeping  their  houses  cool  and  well  ventilated. 


88  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

No  house  can  be  properly  aired  in  winter  without  the  draughts 
produced  by  open  fires.  Fortunately,  doctors  are  beginning  to 
call  attention  to  this  neglected  detail  of  sanitation;  and  as  dry 
artificial  heat  is  the  main  source  of  throat  and  lung  diseases, 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  growing  taste  for  open-air  life  and  out- 
door sports  will  bring  about  a  desire  for  better  ventilation,  and  a 
dislike  for  air-tight  stoves,  gas-fires  and  steam-heat. 

Aside  from  the  question  of  health  and  personal  comfort,  nothing 
can  be  more  cheerless  and  depressing  than  a  room  without  fire 
on  a  winter  day.  The  more  torrid  the  room,  the  more  abnormal 
is  the  contrast  between  the  cold  hearth  and  the  incandescent  tem- 
perature. Without  a  fire,  the  best-appointed  drawing-room  is  as 
comfortless  as  the  shut-up  "best  parlor"  of  a  New  England 
farm-house.  The  empty  fireplace  shows  that  the  room  is  not 
really  lived  in  and  that  its  appearance  of  luxury  and  comfort  is 
but  a  costly  sham  prepared  for  the  edification  of  visitors. 


Vll 

CEILINGS  AND  FLOORS 

To  attempt  even  an  outline  of  the  history  of  ceilings  in  do- 
mestic architecture  would  exceed  the  scope  of  this  book; 
nor  would  it  serve  any  practical  purpose  to  trace  the  early  forms 
of  vaulting  and  timbering  which  preceded  the  general  adoption  of 
the  modern  plastered  ceiling.  To  understand  the  development 
of  the  modern  ceiling,  however,  one  must  trace  the  two  very 
different  influences  by  which  it  has  been  shaped:  that  of  the 
timber  roof  of  the  North  and  that  of  the  brick  or  stone  vault  of 
the  Latin  builders.  This  twofold  tradition  has  curiously  affected 
the  details  of  the  modern  ceiling.  During  the  Renaissance,  flat 
plaster  ceilings  were  not  infrequently  coffered  with  stucco  panels 
exactly  reproducing  the  lines  of  timber  framing;  and  in  the  Villa 
Vertemati,  near  Chiavenna,  there  is  a  curious  and  interesting 
ceiling  of  carved  wood  made  in  imitation  of  stucco  (see  Plate 
XXIII);  while  one  of  the  rooms  in  the  Palais  de  Justice  at  Rennes 
contains  an  elaborate  vaulted  ceiling  constructed  entirely  of  wood, 
with  mouldings  nailed  on  (see  Plate  XXIV). 

In  northern  countries,  where  the  ceiling  was  simply  the  under 
side  of  the  wooden  floor,*  it  was  natural  that  its   decoration 

1  In  France,  until  the  sixteenth  century,  the  same  word — plancher — was  used 
to  designate  both  floor  and  ceiling. 

I9 


^o  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

should  follow  the  rectangular  subdivisions  formed  by  open 
timber-framing.  In  the  South,  however,  where  the  floors  were 
generally  of  stone,  resting  on  stone  vaults,  the  structural  condi- 
tions were  so  different  that  although  the  use  of  caissons  based  on 
the  divisions  of  timber-framing  was  popular  both  in  the  Roman 
and  Renaissance  periods,  the  architect  always  felt  himself  free  to 
treat  the  ceiling  as  a  flat,  undivided  surface  prepared  for  the  ap- 
plication of  ornament. 

The  idea  that  there  is  anything  unarchitectural  in  this  method 
comes  from  an  imperfect  understanding  of  the  construction  of 
Roman  ceilings.  The  vault  was  the  typical  Roman  ceiling,  and 
the  vault  presents  a  smooth  surface,  without  any  structural  pro- 
jections to  modify  the  ornament  applied  to  it.  The  panelling  of 
a  vaulted  or  flat  ceiling  was  as  likely  to  be  agreeable  to  the  eye 
as  a  similar  treatment  of  the  walls;  but  the  Roman  coffered  ceil- 
ing and  its  Renaissance  successors  were  the  result  of  a  strong 
sense  of  decorative  fitness  rather  than  of  any  desire  to  adhere  to 
structural  limitations. 

Examples  of  the  timbered  ceiling  are,  indeed,  to  be  found  in 
Italy  as  well  as  in  France  and  England;  and  in  Venice  the  flat 
wooden  ceiling,  panelled  upon  structural  lines,  persisted  through- 
out the  Renaissance  period;  but  in  Rome,  where  the  classic 
influences  were  always  much  stronger,  and  where  the  discovery 
of  the  stucco  ceilings  of  ancient  baths  and  palaces  produced  such 
lasting  effects  upon  the  architecture  of  the  early  Renaissance,  the 
decorative  treatment  of  the  stone  vault  was  transferred  to  the  flat 
or'  coved  Renaissance  ceiling  without  a  thought  of  its  being 
inapplicable  or  "insincere."  The  fear  of  insincerity,  in  the  sense 
of  concealing  the  anatomy  of  any  part  of  a  building,  troubled  the 
Renaissance  architect  no  more  than  it  did  his  Gothic  predecessor, 


PLATE  XXIII. 


CARVED  WOODEN  CEILING,  VILLA  VERTEMATL 

xvi  century. 

(showing  influence  of  stucco  decoration.) 


Ceilings  and  Floors  gi 

who  had  never  hesitated  to  stretch  a  "del"  of  cloth  or  tapestry 
over  the  naked  timbers  of  the  mediaeval  ceiling.  The  duty  of  ex- 
posing structural  forms  —  an  obligation  that  weighs  so  heavily 
upon  the  conscience  of  the  modern  architect — is  of  very  recent 
origin.  Mediaeval  as  well  as  Renaissance  architects  thought  first 
of  adapting  their  buildings  to  the  uses  for  which  they  were  in- 
tended and  then  of  decorating  them  in  such  a  way  as  to  give 
pleasure  to  the  eye ;  and  the  maintenance  of  that  relation  which 
the  eye  exacts  between  main  structural  lines  and  their  ornamen- 
tation was  the  only  form  of  sincerity  which  they  knew  or  cared 
about. 

If  a  flat  ceiling  rested  on  a  well-designed  cornice,  or  if  a 
vaulted  or  coved  ceiling  sprang  obviously  from  walls  capable 
of  supporting  it,  the  Italian  architect  did  not  allow  himself  to  be 
hampered  by  any  pedantic  conformity  to  structural  details.  The 
eye  once  satisfied  that  the  ceiling  had  adequate  support,  the  fit 
proportioning  of  its  decoration  was  considered  far  more  important 
than  mere  technical  fidelity  to  the  outline  of  floor-beams  and 
joists.  If  the  Italian  decorator  wished  to  adorn  a  ceiling  with 
carved  or  painted  panels  he  used  the  lines  of  the  timbering  to 
frame  his  panels,  because  they  naturally  accorded  with  his  dec- 
orative scheme ;  while,  were  a  large  central  painting  to  be  em- 
ployed, or  the  ceiling  to  be  covered  with  reliefs  in  stucco,  he  felt 
no  more  hesitation  in  deviating  from  the  lines  of  the  timbering 
than  he  would  have  felt  in  planning  the  pattern  of  a  mosaic  or 
a  marble  floor  without  reference  to  the  floor-beams  beneath  it. 

In  France  and  England  it  was  natural  that  timber-construction 
should  long  continue  to  regulate  the  design  of  the  ceiling.  The 
Roman  vault  lined  with  stone  caissons,  or  with  a  delicate  tracery 
of  stucco-work,  was  not  an  ever-present  precedent  in  northern 


92  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

Europe.  Tradition  pointed  to  the  open-timbered  roof;  and  as  Italy 
furnished  numerous  and  brilliant  examples  of  decorative  treatment 
adapted  to  this  form  of  ceiling,  it  was  to  be  expected  that  both  in 
France  and  England  the  national  form  should  be  preserved  long 
after  Italian  influences  had  established  themselves  in  both  coun- 
tries. In  fact,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  France,  where  the 
artistic  feeling  was  much  finer,  and  the  sense  of  fitness  and  power 
of  adaptation  were  more  fully  developed,  than  in  England,  the 
lines  of  the  timbered  ceiling  persisted  throughout  the  Renais- 
sance and  Louis  XIII  periods;  whereas  in  England  the  Eliza- 
bethan architects,  lost  in  the  mazes  of  Italian  detail,  without  a 
guiding  perception  of  its  proper  application,  abandoned  the  tim- 
bered, ceiling,  with  its  eminently  architectural  subdivisions,  for  a 
flat  plaster  surface  over  which  geometrical  flowers  in  stucco 
meandered  in  endless  sinuosities,  unbroken  by  a  single  moulding, 
and  repeating  themselves  with  the  maddening  persistency  of 
wall-paper  pattern.  This  style  of  ornamentation  was  done  away 
with  by  Inigo  Jones  and  his  successors,  who  restored  the  archi- 
tectural character  of  the  ceiling,  whether  flat  or  vaulted;  and 
thereafter  panelling  persisted  in  England  until  the  French  Revolu- 
tion brought  about  the  general  downfall  of  taste.  ^ 

In  France,  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  liking 
for  petits  appartements  led  to  greater  lightness  in  all  kinds  of  deco- 
rative treatment;  and  the  ceilings  of  the  Louis  XV  period,  while 
pleasing  in  detail,  are  open  to  the  criticism  of  being  somewhat 
weak  in  form.  Still,  they  are  always  compositions,  and  their 
light  traceries,  though  perhaps  too  dainty  and  fragile  in  them- 
selves, are  so  disposed  as  to  form  a  clearly  marked  design,  in- 
stead of  being  allowed  to  wander  in  a  monotonous  network  over 

1  For  a  fine  example  of  an  English  stucco  ceiling,  see  Plate  XIII. 


CO 

UJ 

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UJ 

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:ii»  •• ' 


Ceilings  and  Floors  93 

the  whole  surface  of  the  ceiling,  like  the  ubiquitous  Tudor  rose. 
Isaac  Ware,  trained  in  the  principles  of  form  which  the  teachings 
of  Inigo  Jones  had  so  deeply  impressed  upon  English  architects, 
ridicules  the  "petty  wildnesses"  of  the  French  style;  but  if  the 
Louis  XV  ceiling  lost  for  a  time  its  architectural  character,  this 
was  soon  to  be  restored  by  Gabriel  and  his  followers,  while  at 
the  same  period  in  England  the  forcible  mouldings  of  Inigo  Jones's 
school  were  fading  into  the  ineffectual  grace  of  Adam's  laurel- 
wreaths  and  velaria. 

In  the  general  effect  of  the  room,  the  form  of  the  ceiling  is  of 
more  importance  than  its  decoration.  In  rooms  of  a  certain  size 
and  heightj  a  flat  surface  overhead  looks  monotonous,  and  the 
ceiling  should  be  vaulted  or  coved.^  Endless  modifications  of 
this  form  of  treatment  are  to  be  found  in  the  architectural  treatises 
of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  as  well  as  in  the 
buildings  of  that  period. 

A  coved  ceiling  greatly  increases  the  apparent  height  of  a  low- 
studded  room ;  but  rooms  of  this  kind  should  not  be  treated  with 
an  order,  since  the  projection  of  the  cornice  below  the  springing 
of  the  cove  will  lower  the  walls  so  much  as  to  defeat  the  purpose 
for  which  the  cove  has  been  used.  In  such  rooms  the  cove 
should  rise  directly  from  the  walls;  and  this  treatment  suggests 
the  important  rule  that  where  the  cove  is  not  supported  by  a  cor- 
nice the  ceiling  decoration  should  be  of  very  light  character.  A 
heavy  panelled  ceiling  should  not  rest  on  the  walls  without  the 
intervention  of  a  strongly  profiled  cornice.  The  French  Louis 
XV  decoration,  with  its  fanciful  embroidery  of  stucco  ornament, 

1  The  flat  Venetian  ceilings,  such  as  those  in  the  ducal  palace,  with  their  richly 
carved  wood-work  and  glorious  paintings,  beautiful  as  they  have  been  made  by  art, 
are  not  so  fine  architecturally  as  a  domed  or  coved  ceiling. 


94  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

is  well  suited  to  coved  ceilings  springing  directly  from  the  walls 
in  a  room  of  low  stud ;  while  a  ceiling  divided  into  panels  with 
heavy  architectural  mouldings,  whether  it  be  flat  or  vaulted, 
looks  best  when  the  walls  are  treated  with  a  complete  order. 

Durand,  in  his  lectures  on  architecture,  in  speaking  of  cornices 
lays  down  the  following  excellent  rules:  "  Interior  cornices  must 
necessarily  differ  more  or  less  from  those  belonging  to  the  orders 
as  used  externally,  though  in  rooms  of  reasonable  height  these 
differences  need  be  but  slight;  but  if  the  stud  be  low,  as  some- 
times is  inevitable,  the  cornice  must  be  correspondingly  narrowed, 
and  given  an  excessive  projection,  in  order  to  increase  the  appar- 
ent height  of  the  room.  Moreover,  as  in  the  interior  of  the  house 
the  light  is  much  less  bright  than  outside,  the  cornice  should  be 
so  profiled  that  the  juncture  of  the  mouldings  shall  form  not  right 
angles,  but  acute  angles,  with  spaces  between  the  mouldings 
serving  to  detach  the  latter  still  more  clearly  from  each  other." 

The  choice  of  the  substance  out  of  which  a  ceiling  is  to  be 
made  depends  somewhat  upon  the  dimensions  of  the  room,  the 
height  of  the  stud  and  the  decoration  of  the  walls.  A  heavily 
panelled  wooden  ceiling  resting  upon  walls  either  frescoed  or 
hung  with  stuff  is  likely  to  seem  oppressive ;  but,  as  in  all  other 
kinds  of  decoration,  the  effect  produced  depends  far  more  .upon 
the  form  and  the  choice  of  ornamental  detail  than  upon  the  ma- 
terial used.  Wooden  ceilings,  however,  both  from  the  nature  of 
the  construction  and  the  kind  of  ornament  which  may  most  suita- 
bly be  applied  to  them,  are  of  necessity  rather  heavy  in  appearance, 
and  should  therefore  be  used  only  in  large  and  high-studded  rooms 
the  walls  of  which  are  panelled  in  wood.^ 

1  For  an  example  of  a  wooden  ceiling  which  is  too  heavy  for  the  wall-decoration 
below  it,  see  Plate  XLIV. 


Ceilings  and  Floors  95 

Stucco  and  fresco-painting  are  adapted  to  every  variety  of  dec- 
oration, from  the  light  traceries  of  a  boudoir  ceiling  to  the  dome 
of  the  salon  d  I'ltalienne;  but  the  design  must  be  chosen  with 
strict  regard  to  the  size  and  height  of  the  room  and  to  the  pro- 
posed treatment  of  its  walls.  The  cornice  forms  the  connecting 
link  between  walls  and  ceiling  and  it  is  essential  to  the  harmony 
of  any  scheme  of  decoration  that  this  important  member  should 
be  carefully  designed.  It  is  useless  to  lavish  money  on  the  adorn- 
ment of  walls  and  ceiling  connected  by  an  ugly  cornice. 

The  same  objections  extend  to  the  clumsy  plaster  mouldings 
which  in  many  houses  disfigure  the  ceiling.  To  paint  or  gild  a 
ceiling  of  this  kind  only  attracts  attention  to  its  ugliness.  When 
the  expense  of  removing  the  mouldings  and  filling  up  the  holes  in 
the  plaster  is  considered  too  great,  it  is  better  to  cover  the  bulbous 
rosettes  and  pendentives  with  kalsomine  than  to  attempt  their 
embellishment  by  means  of  any  polychrome  decoration.  The  cost 
of  removing  plaster  ornaments  is  not  great,  however,  and  a  small 
outlay  will  replace  an  ugly  cornice  by  one  of  architectural  design ; 
so  that  a  little  economy  in  buying  window-hangings  or  chair- 
coverings  often  makes  up  for  the  additional  expense  of  these 
changes.  One  need  only  look  at  the  ceilings  in  the  average 
modern  house  to  see  what  a  thing  of  horror  plaster  may  become 
in  the  hands  of  an  untrained  "designer." 

The  same  general  principles  of  composition  suggested  for  the 
treatment  of  walls  may  be  applied  to  ceiling-decoration.  Thus  it 
is  essential  that  where  there  is  a  division  of  parts,  one  part  shall 
perceptibly  predominate;  and  this,  in  a  ceiling,  should  be  the 
central  division.  The  chief  defect  of  the  coffered  Renaissance 
ceiling  is  the  lack  of  this  predominating  part.  Great  as  may  have 
been  the  decorative  skill  expended  on  the  treatment  of  beams  and 


96  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

panels,  the  coffered  ceiling  of  equal-sized  divisions  seems  to  press 
down  upon  the  spectator's  head ;  whereas  the  large  central  panel 
gives  an  idea  of  height  that  the  great  ceiling-painters  were  quick 
to  enhance  by  glimpses  of  cloud  and  sky,  or  some  aerial  effect,  as 
in  Mantegna's  incomparable  ceiling  of  the  Sala  degli  Sposi  in  the 
ducal  palace  of  Mantua. 

Ceiling-decoration  should  never  be  a  literal  reproduction  of  wall- 
decoration.  The  different  angle  and  greater  distance  at  which 
ceilings  are  viewed  demand  a  quite  different  treatment  and  it  is 
to  the  disregard  of  this  fact  that  most  badly  designed  ceilings  owe 
their  origin.  Even  in  the  high  days  of  art  there  was  a  tendency 
on  the  part  of  some  decorators  to  confound  the  two  plane  surfaces 
of  wall  and  ceiling,  and  one  might  cite  many  wall-designs  which 
have  been  transferred  to  fhe  ceiling  without  being  rearranged  to 
fit  their  new  position.  Instances  of  this  kind  have  never  been  so 
general  as  in  the  present  day.  The  reaction  from  the  badly 
designed  mouldings  and  fungoid  growths  that  characterized  the 
ceilings  of  forty  years  ago  has  led  to  the  use  of  attenuated 
laurel-wreaths  combined  with  other  puny  attributes  taken  from 
Sheraton  cabinets  and  Adam  mantel-pieces.  These  so-called  orna- 
ments, always  somewhat  lacking  in  character,  become  absolutely 
futile  when  viewed  from  below. 

This  pressed-flower  ornamentation  is  a  direct  precedent  to  the 
modern  ceiling  covered  with  wall-paper.  One  would  think  that 
the  inappropriateness  of  this  treatment  was  obvious;  but  since  it 
has  become  popular  enough  to  warrant  the  manufacture  of  spe- 
cially designed  ceiling-papers,  some  protest  should  be  made.  The 
necessity  for  hiding  cracks  in  the  plaster  is  the  reason  most  often 
given  for  papering  ceilings;  but  the  cost  of  mending  cracks  is 
small  and  a  plaster  ceiling  lasts  much  longer  than  is  generally 


PLATE  XXV. 


^'^sy 


CEILING  OF  THE  SALA  DEGLI  SPOSI,  DUCAL 
PALACE,  MANTUA. 

BY  ANDREA  MANTEGNA,  I474. 


Ceilings  and  Floors  97 

thought.  It  need  never  be  taken  down  unless  it  is  actually  falling; 
and  as  well-made  repairs  strengthen  and  improve  the  entire  sur- 
face, a  much-mended  ceiling  is  stronger  than  one  that  is  just 
beginning  to  crack.  If  the  cost  of  repairing  must  be  avoided,  a 
smooth  white  lining-paper  should  be  chosen  in  place  of  one  of 
the  showy  and  vulgar  papers  which  serve  only  to  attract  attention. 

Of  all  forms  of  ceiling  adornment  painting  is  the  most  beautiful. 
Italy,  which  contains  the  three  perfect  ceilings  of  the  world  — 
those  of  Mantegna  in  the  ducal  palace  of  Mantua  (see  Plate  XXV), 
of  Perugino  in  the  Sala  del  Cambio  at  Perugia  and  of  Araldi  in 
the  Convent  of  St.  Paul  at  Parma  —  is  the  best  field  for  the  study 
of  this  branch  of  art.  From  the  semi-classical  vaults  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  with  their  Roman  arabesques  and  fruit-garlands  framing 
human  figures  detached  as  mere  ornament  against  a  background 
of  solid  color,  to  the  massive  goddesses  and  broad  Virgilian  land- 
scapes of  the  Carracci  and  to  the  piled-up  perspectives  of  Gior- 
dano's school  of  prestidigitators,  culminating  in  the  great  Tiepolo, 
Italian  art  affords  examples  of  every  temperament  applied  to  the 
solution  of  one  of  the  most  interesting  problems  in  decoration. 

Such  ceilings  as  those  on  which  Raphael  and  Giovanni  da 
Udine  worked  together,  combining  painted  arabesques  and 
medallions  with  stucco  reliefs,  are  admirably  suited  to  small 
low-studded  rooms  and  might  well  be  imitated  by  painters  in- 
capable of  higher  things. 

There  is  but  one  danger  in  adapting  this  decoration  to  modern 
use — that  is,  the  temptation  to  sacrifice  scale  and  general  composi- 
tion to  the  search  after  refinement  of  detail.  It  cannot  be  denied 
that  some  of  the  decorations  of  the  school  of  Giovanni  da  Udine 
are  open  to  this  criticism.  The  ornamentation  of  the  great  loggia 
of  the  Villa  Madama  is  unquestionably  out  of  scale  with  the  dimen- 


98  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

sions  of  the  structure.  Much  exquisite  detail  is  lost  in  looking  up 
past  the  great  piers  and  the  springing  of  the  massive  arches  to  the 
lace-work  that  adorns  the  vaulting.  In  this  case  the  composi- 
tion is  less  at  fault  than  the  scale :  the  decorations  of  the  semi- 
domes  at  the  Villa  Madama,  if  transferred  to  a  small  mezzanin 
room,  would  be  found  to  "compose"  perfectly.  Charming  ex- 
amples of  the  use  of  this  style  in  small  apartments  may  be  studied 
in  the  rooms  of  the  Casino  del  Grotto,  near  Mantua. 

The  tendency  of  many  modern  decorators  to  sacrifice  composi- 
tion to  detail,  and  to  fieglect  the  observance  of  proportion  between 
ornament  and  structure,  makes  the  adaptation  of  Renaissance 
stucco  designs  a  somewhat  hazardous  undertaking;  but  the  very 
care  required  to  preserve  the  scale  and  to  accentuate  the  general 
lines  of  the  design  affords  good  training  in  the  true  principles  of 
composition. 

Equally  well  suited  to  modern  use  are  the  designs  in  arabesque 
with  which,  in  France,  Berain  and  his  followers  painted  the  ceil- 
ings of  small  rooms  during  the  Louis  XIV  period  (see  Plate  XXVI). 
With  the  opening  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Berain  arabesques, 
animated  by  the  touch  of  Watteau,  Huet  and  J.-B.  Leprince, 
blossomed  into  trellis-like  designs  alive  with  birds  and  monkeys, 
Chinese  mandarins  balancing  umbrellas,  and  nymphs  and  shep- 
herdesses under  slender  classical  ruins.  Side  by  side  with  the 
monumental  work  of  such  artists  as  Lebrun  and  Lesueur,  Coypel, 
Vouet  and  Natoire,  this  light  style  of  composition  was  always  in 
favor  for  the  decoration  oi  petits  appartements :  the  most  famous 
painters  of  the  day  did  not  think  it  beneath  them  to  furnish  de- 
signs for  such  purposes  (see  Plate  XXVII). 

In  moderate-sized  rooms  which  are  to  be  decorated  in  a  simple 
and  inexpensive  manner,  a  plain  plaster  ceiling  with  well-designed 


Ceilings  and  Floors  99 

cornice  is  preferable  to  any  device  for  producing  showy  effects  at 
small  cost.  It  may  be  laid  down  as  a  general  rule  in  house-deco- 
ration that  what  must  be  done  cheaply  should  be  done  simply. 
It  is  better  to  pay  for  the  best  plastering  than  to  use  a  cheaper 
quality  and  then  to  cover  the  cracks  with  lincrusta  or  ceiling- 
paper.  This  is  true  of  all  such  expedients:  let  the  fundamental 
work  be  good  in  design  and  quality  and  the  want  of  ornament 
will  not  be  felt. 

In  America  the  return  to  a  more  substantial  way  of  building 
and  the  tendency  to  discard  wood  for  briclc  or  stone  whenever 
possible  will  doubtless  lead  in  time  to  the  use  of  brick,  stone  or 
marble  floors.  These  floors,  associated  in  the  minds  of  most 
Americans  with  shivering  expeditions  through  damp  Italian  pal- 
aces, are  in  reality  perfectly  suited  to  the  dry  American  climate, 
and  even  the  most  anaemic  person  could  hardly  object  to  brick  or 
marble  covered  by  heavy  rugs. 

The  inlaid  marble  floors  of  the  Italian  palaces,  whether  com- 
posed of  square  or  diamond-shaped  blocks,  or  decorated  with  a 
large  design  in  different  colors,  are  unsurpassed  in  beauty;  while 
in  high-studded  rooms  where  there  is  little  pattern  on  the  walls 
and  a  small  amount  of  furniture,  elaborately  designed  mosaic 
floors  with  sweeping  arabesques  and  geometrical  figures  are  of 
great  decorative  value. 

Floors  of  these  substances  have  the  merit  of  being  not  only 
more  architectural  in  character,  more  solid  and  durable,  but  also 
easier  to  keep  clean.  This  should  especially  commend  them  to 
the  hygienically-minded  American  housekeeper,  since  floors  that 
may  be  washed  are  better  suited  to  our  climate  than  those  which 
must  be  covered  with  a  nailed-down  carpet. 

Next  in  merit  to  brick  or  marble  comes  the  parquet  of  oak  or 


loo  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

other  hard  wood;  but  even  this  looks  inadequate  in  rooms  of 
great  architectural  importance.  In  ball-rooms  a  hard-wood  floor 
is  generally  regarded  as  a  necessity;  but  in  vestibule,  staircase, 
dining-room  or  saloon,  marble  is  superior  to  anything  else.  The 
design  of  the  parquet  floor  should  be  simple  and  unobtrusive. 
The  French,  who  brought  this  branch  of  floor-laying  to  perfec- 
tion, would  never  have  tolerated  the  crudely  contrasted  woods 
that  make  the  modern  parquet  so  aggressive.  Like  the  walls 
of  a  room,  the  floor  is  a  background :  it  should  not  furnish  pat- 
tern, but  set  off  whatever  is  placed  upon  it.  The  perspective 
effects  dear  to  the  modern  floor-designer  are  the  climax  of  ex- 
travagance. A  floor  should  not  only  be,  but  appear  to  be,  a  per- 
fectly level  surface,  without  simulated  bosses  or  concavities. 

In  choosing  rugs  and  carpets  the  subject  of  design  should  be 
carefully  studied.  The  Oriental  carpet-designers  have  always 
surpassed  their  European  rivals.  The  patterns  of  Eastern  rugs  are 
invariably  well  composed,  with  skilfully  conventionalized  figures 
in  flat  unshaded  colors.  Even  the  Oriental  rug  of  the  present 
day  is  well  drawn;  but  the  colors  used  by  Eastern  manufacturers 
since  the  introduction  of  aniline  dyes  are  so  discordant  that  these 
rugs  are  inferior  to  most  modern  European  carpets. 

In  houses  with  deal  floors,  nailed-down  carpets  are  usually  con- 
sidered a  necessity,  and  the  designing  of  such  carpets  has  im- 
proved so  much  in  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years  that  a  sufficient 
choice  of  unobtrusive  geometrical  patterns  may  now  be  found. 
The  composition  of  European  carpets  woven  in  one  piece,  like 
rugs,  has  never  been  satisfactory.  Even  the  splendid  tapis  de 
Savonnerie  made  in  France  at  the  royal  manufactory  during  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  were  not  so  true  to  the  best 
principles  of  design  as  the  old  Oriental  rugs.     In  Europe  there 


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Ceilings  and  Floors  loi 

was  always  a  tendency  to  transfer  wall  or  ceiling-decoration  to 
floor-coverings.  Such  incongruities  as  architectural  mouldings, 
highly  modelled  trophies  and  human  masks  appear  in  most  of 
the  European  carpets  from  the  time  of  Louis  XIV  to  the  presen.t,  .   .. 

day;  and  except  when  copying  Eastern  models  the  Europeart  'd^'  ''  -  '-'  ' 
signers  were  subject  to  strange  lapses  from  taste.  TH^riJ/b  inoj  j'*{  }^i '\i  • 
reason  why  a  painter  should  not  simulate  loggia  and  sky  on  a  flat 
plaster  ceiling,  since  no  one  will  try  to  use  this  sham  opening  as 
a  means  of  exit;  but  the  carpet-designer  who  puts  picture-frames 
and  human  faces  under  foot,  though  he  does  not  actually  deceive, 
produces  on  the  eye  a  momentary  startling  sense  of  obstruction. 
Any  trompe-l'ceil  is  permissible  in  decorative  art  if  it  gives  an  im- 
pression of  pleasure ;  but  the  inherent  sense  of  fitness  is  shocked 
by  the  act  of  walking  upon  upturned  faces. 

Recent  carpet-designs,  though  usually  free  from  such  obvious 
incongruities,  have  seldom  more  than  a  negative  merit.  The  un- 
conventionalized  flower  still  shows  itself,  and  even  when  banished 
from  the  centre  of  the  carpet  lingers  in  the  border  which  accom- 
panies it.  The  vulgarity  of  these  borders  is  the  chief  objection  to 
using  carpets  of  European  manufacture  as  rugs,  instead  of  nailing 
them  to  the  floor.  It  is  difficult  to  find  a  border  that  is  not  too 
wide,  and  of  which  the  design  is  a  simple  conventional  figure  in 
flat  unshaded  colors.  If  used  at  all,  a  carpet  with  a  border  should 
always  be  in  the  form  of  a  rug,  laid  in  the  middle  of  the  room, 
and  not  cut  to  follow  all  the  ins  and  outs  of  the  floor,  as  such 
adaptation  not  only  narrows  the  room  but  emphasizes  any  ir- 
regularity in  its  plan. 

In  houses  with  deal  floors,  where  nailed-down  carpets  are  used 
in  all  the  rooms,  a  restful  effect  is  produced  by  covering  the  whole 
of  each  story  with  the  same  carpet,  the  door-sills  being  removed 


I02  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

so  that  the  carpet  may  extend  from  one  room  to  another.  In 
small  town  houses,  especially,  this  will  be  found  much  less  fatigu- 
ing to  the  eye  than  the  usual  manner  of  covering  the  floor  of  each 
room  with  carpets  differing  in  color  and  design. 
■  'Where  several  rooms  are  carpeted  alike,  the  floor-covering 
:  ^chosen  should  be  quite  plain,  or  patterned  with  some  small  geo- 
metrical figure  in  a  darker  shade  of  the  foundation  color;  and 
green,  dark  blue  or  red  will  be  found  most  easy  to  combine  with 
the  different  color-schemes  of  the  rooms. 

Pale  tints  should  be  avoided  in  the  selection  of  carpets.  It  is 
better  that  the  color-scale  should  ascend  gradually  from  the  dark 
tone  of  floor  or  carpet  to  the  faint  half-tints  of  the  ceiling.  The 
opposite  combination  —  that  of  a  pale  carpet  with  a  dark  ceiling  — 
lowers  the  stud  and  produces  an  impression  of  top-heaviness  and 
gloom;  indeed,  in  a  room  where  the  ceiling  is  overladen,  a  dark 
rich-toned  carpet  will  do  much  to  lighten  it,  whereas  a  pale  floor- 
covering  will  bring  it  down,  as  it  were,  on  the  inmates'  heads. 

Stair-carpets  should  be  of  a  strong  full  color  and,  if  possible, 
without  pattern.  It  is  fatiguing  to  see  a  design  meant  for  a  hori- 
zontal surface  constrained  to  follow  the  ins  and  outs  of  a  flight 
of  steps;  and  the  use  of  pattern  where  not  needed  is  always 
meaningless,  and  interferes  with  a  decided  color-effect  where  the 
latter  might  have  been  of  special  advantage  to  the  general  scheme 
of  decoration. 


PLATE  XXVII. 


CEILING  IN  THE  CHATEAU  OF  CHANTILLY. 

LOUIS    XV     PERIOD. 
(example    of    CHINOISERIE    DECORATION.) 


VIII 
ENTRANCE  AND  VESTIBULE 

THE  decoration  of  the  entrance  necessarily  depends  on  the 
nature  of  the  house  and  its  situation.  A  country  house, 
where  visitors  are  few  and  life  is  simple,  demands  a  less  formal 
treatment  than  a  house  in  a  city  or  town ;  while  a  villa  in  a  water- 
ing-place where  there  is  much  in  common  with  town  life  has 
necessarily  many  points  of  resemblance  to  a  town  house. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  of  entrances  in  general  that,  while 
the  main  purpose  of  a  door  is  to  admit,  its  secondary  purpose  is 
to  exclude.  The  outer  door,  which  separates  the  hall  or  vestibule 
from  the  street,  should  clearly  proclaim  itself  an  effectual  barrier. 
It  should  look  strong  enough  to  give  a  sense  of  security,  and  be 
so  plain  in  design  as  to  offer  no  chance  of  injury  by  weather  and 
give  no  suggestion  of  interior  decoration. 

The  best  ornamentation  for  an  entrance-door  is  simple  panel- 
ling, with  bold  architectural  mouldings  and  as  little  decorative 
detail  as  possible.  The  necessary  ornament  should  be  contributed 
by  the  design  of  locks,  hinges  and  handles.  These,  like  the  door 
itself,  should  be  strong  and  serviceable,  with  nothing  finikin  in 
their  treatment,  and  made  of  a  substance  which  does  not  require 
cleaning.  For  the  latter  reason,  bronze  and  iron  are  more  fitting 
than  brass  or  steel. 

•PS 


I04  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

In  treating  the  vestibule,  careful  study  is  required  to  establish  a 
harmony  between  the  decorative  elements  inside  and  outside  the 
house.  The  vestibule  should  form  a  natural  and  easy  transition 
from  the  plain  architecture  of  the  street  to  the  privacy  of  the  in- 
terior (see  Plate  XXVIII). 

No  portion  of  the  inside  of  the  house  being  more  exposed  to 
the  weather,  great  pains  should  be  taken  to  avoid  using  in  its 
decoration  materials  easily  damaged  by  rain  or  dust,  such  as 
carpets  or  wall-paper.  The  decoration  should  at  once  produce 
the  impression  of  being  weather-proof. 

Marble,  stone,  scagliola,  or  painted  stucco  are  for  this  reason 
the  best  materials.  If  wood  is  used,  it  should  be  painted,  as  dust 
and  dirt  soon  soil  it,  and  unless  its  finish  be  water-proof  it 
will  require  continual  varnishing.  The  decorations  of  the  vesti- 
bule should  be  as  permanent  as  possible  in  character,  in  order  to 
avoid  incessant  small  repairs. 

The  floor  should  be  of  stone,  marble,  or  tiles ;  even  a  linoleum 
or  oil-cloth  of  sober  pattern  is  preferable  to  a  hard-wood  floor  in 
so  exposed  a  situation.  For  the  same  reason,  it  is  best  to  treat  the 
walls  with  a  decoration  of  stone  or  marble.  In  simpler  houses 
the  same  effect  may  be  produced  at  much  less  cost  by  dividing 
the  wall-spaces  into  panels,  with  wooden  mouldings  applied  di- 
rectly to  the  plaster,  the  whole  being  painted  in  oil,  either  in  one 
uniform  tint  or  in  varying  shades  of  some  cold  sober  color.  This 
subdued  color-scheme  will  produce  an  agreeable  contrast  with  the 
hall  or  staircase,  which,  being  a  degree  nearer  the  centre  of  the 
house,  should  receive  a  gayer  and  more  informal  treatment  than 
the  vestibule. 

The  vestibule  usually  has  two  doors :  an  outer  one  opening  to- 
ward the  street  and  an  inner  one  giving  into  the  hall;  but  when 


PMTE  xxyiii 


ANTECHAMBER  IN  THE  VILLA  CAMBIASO,  GENOA. 

BUILT   BY    AI.ESSI,   XVI    CENTURY. 


Entrance  and  Vestibule  105 

the  outer  is  entirely  of  wood,  without  glass,  and  must  therefore 
be  left  open  during  the  day,  the  vestibule  is  usually  subdivided  by 
an  inner  glass  door  placed  a  few  feet  from  the  entrance.  This  ar- 
rangement has  the  merit  of  keeping  the  house  warm  and  of  af- 
fording a  shelter  to  the  servants  who,  during  an  entertainment, 
are  usually  compelled  to  wait  outside.  The  French  architect 
always  provides  an  antechamber  for  this  purpose. 

No  furniture  which  is  easily  soiled  or  damaged,  or  difficult  to 
keep  clean,  is  appropriate  in  a  vestibule.  In  large  and  imposing 
houses  marble  or  stone  benches  and  tables  should  be  used,  and 
the  ornamentation  may  consist  of  statues,  vases,  or  busts  on 
pedestals  (see  Plate  XXIX).  When  the  decoration  is  simpler  and 
wooden  benches  are  used,  they  should  resemble  those  made  for 
French  gardens,  with  seats  of  one  piece  of  wood,  or  of  broad 
thick  slats;  while  in  small  vestibules,  benches  and  chairs  with 
cane  seats  are  appropriate. 

The  excellent  reproductions  of  Robbia  ware  made  by  Cantagalli 
of  Florence  look  well  against  painted  walls ;  while  plaster  or  terra- 
cotta bas-reliefs  are  less  expensive  and  equally  decorative,  especially 
against  a  pale-blue  or  green  background. 

The  lantern,  the  traditional  form  of  fixture  for  lighting  vesti- 
bules, is  certainly  the  best  in  so  exposed  a  situation ;  and  though 
where  electric  light  is  used  draughts  need  not  be  considered,  the 
sense  of  fitness  requires  that  a  light  in  such  a  position  should 
always  have  the  semblance  of  being  protected. 


IX 

HALL  AND  STAIRS 

WHAT  is  technically  known  as  the  staircase  (in  German 
the  Treppenbaus)  has,  in  our  lax  modern  speech,  come  to 
be  designated  as  the  hall. 

In  Gwilt's  Encyclopedia  of  ArchiteRure  the  staircase  is  defined 
as  "that  part  or  subdivision  of  a  building  containing  the  stairs 
which  enable  people  to  ascend  or  descend  from  one  floor  to  an- 
other"; while  the  hall  is  described  as  follows:  "The  first  large 
apartment  on  entering  a  house.  ...  In  magnificent  edifices, 
where  the  hall  is  larger  and  loftier  than  usual,  and  is  placed  in  the 
middle  of  the  house,  it  is  called  a  saloon ;  and  a  royal  apartment 
consists  of  a  hall,  or  chamber  of  guards,  etc." 

It  is  clear  that,  in  the  technical  acceptance  of  the  term,  a  hall  is 
something  quite  different  from  a  staircase;  yet  the  two  words 
were  used  interchangeably  by  so  early  a  writer  as  Isaac  Ware, 
who,  in  his  Complete  Body  of  Architecture,  published  in  1756, 
continually  speaks  of  the  staircase  as  the  hall.  This  confusion  of 
terms  is  difficult  to  explain,  for  in  early  times  the  staircase  was  as 
distinct  from  the  hall  as  it  continued  to  be  in  France  and  Italy,  and, 
with  rare  exceptions,  in  England  also,  until  the  present  century. 

In  glancing  over  the  plans  of  the  feudal  dwellings  of  northern 
Europe  it  will  be  seen  that,  far  from  being  based  on  any  definite 

106 


Hall  and  Stairs  107 

conception,  they  were  made  up  of  successive  accretions  about  the 
nobleman's  keep.  The  first  room  to  attach  itself  to  the  keep  was 
the  "hall,"  a  kind  of  microcosm  in  which  sleeping,  eating,  enter- 
taining guests  and  administering  justice  succeeded  each  other  or 
went  on  simultaneously.  In  the  course  of  time  various  rooms, 
such  as  the  parlor,  the  kitchen,  the  offices,  the  muniment-room 
and  the  lady's  bower,  were  added  to  the  primitive  hall;  but  these 
were  rather  incidental  necessities  than  parts  of  an  organized 
scheme  of  planning. ^  In  this  agglomeration  of  apartments  the 
stairs  found  a  place  where  they  could.  Space  being  valuable, 
they  were  generally  carried  up  spirally  in  the  thickness  of  the  wall, 
or  in  an  angle-turret.  Owing  to  enforced  irregularity  of  plan,  and 
perhaps  to  the  desire  to  provide  numerous  separate  means  of  ac- 
cess to  the  different  parts  of  the  dwelling,  each  castle  usually  con- 
tained several  staircases,  no  one  of  which  was  more  important 
than  the  others. 

It  was  in  Italy  that  stairs  first  received  attention  as  a  feature  in 
the  general  composition  of  the  house.  There,  from  the  outset,  all 
the  conditions  had  been  different.  The  domestic  life  of  the  upper 
classes  having  developed  from  the  eleventh  century  onward  in 
the  comparative  security  of  the  walled  town,  it  was  natural  that 
house-planning  should  be  less  irregular,^  and  that  more  regard 
should  be  given  to  considerations  of  comfort  and  dignity.  In  early 
Italian  palaces  the  stairs  either  ascended  through  the  open  cen- 

1  Burckhardt,  in  his  Geschichte  der  Renaissance  in  Italien,  justly  points  out 
that  the  seeming  inconsequence  of  mediaeval  house-planning  in  northern  Europe  was 
probably  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  the  feudal  castle,  for  purposes  of  defence,  was 
generally  built  on  an  irregular  site.     See  also  VioUet-le-Duc. 

2  "  Der  gothische  Profanbau  in  Italien  .  .  .  steht  im  vollen  Gegensatz  zum 
Norden  durch  die  rationelle  Anlage."  Burckhardt,  Gescbicbte  der  Renaissance  in 
Italien,  p.  28. 


io8  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

tral  cortile  to  an  arcaded  gallery  on  the  first  floor,  as  in  the  Gondi 
palace  and  the  Bargello  at  Florence,  or  were  carried  up  in  straight 
flights  between  walls.^  This  was,  in  fact,  the  usual  way  of  build- 
ing stairs  in  Italy  until  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century.  These 
enclosed  stairs  usually  started  near  the  vaulted  entranceway  lead- 
ing from  the  street  to  the  cortile.  Gradually  the  space  at  the  foot 
of  the  stairs,  which  at  first  was  small,  increased  in  size  and  in  im- 
portance of  decorative  treatment;  while  the  upper  landing  opened 
into  an  antechamber  which  became  the  centre  of  the  principal 
suite  of  apartments.  With  the  development  of  the  Palladian 
style,  the  whole  staircase  (provided  the  state  apartments  were  not 
situated  on  the  ground  floor)  assumed  more  imposing  dimensions; 
though  it  was  not  until  a  much  later  date  that  the  monumental 
staircase  so  often  regarded  as  one  of  the  chief  features  of  the  Ital- 
ian Renaissance  began  to  be  built.  Indeed,  a  detailed  examination 
of  the  Italian  palaces  shows  that  even  in  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries  such  staircases  as  were  built  by  Fontana  in 
the  royal  palace  at  Naples,  by  Juvara  in  the  Palazzo  Madama  at 
Turin  and  by  Vanvitelli  at  Caserta,  were  seen  only  in  royal  pal- 
aces. Even  Morelli's  staircase  in  the  Braschi  palace  in  Rome, 
magnificent  as  it  is,  hardly  reaches  the  popular  conception  of 
the  Italian  state  staircase  —  a  conception  probably  based  rather 
upon  the  great  open  stairs  of  the  Genoese  cortili  than  upon  any 
actually  existing  staircases.  It  is  certain  that  until  late  in  the 
seventeenth  century  (as  Bernini's  Vatican  staircase  shows)  inter- 
mural  stairs  were  thought  grand  enough  for  the  most  splendid 
palaces  of  Italy  (see  Plate  XXX). 
The  spiral  staircase,  soon  discarded  by  Italian  architects  save  as  a 

1  See  the  stairs  of  the  Riccardi  palace  in  Florence,  of  the  Piccolomini  palace  at 
Pienza  and  of  the  ducal  palace  at  Urbino. 


PLATE  XXX. 


STAIRCASE  IN  THE  PARODI  PALACE,  GENOA. 

xvi  century, 
(showing  inter-mural  stairs  and  marble  floor.) 


Hall  and  Stairs  109 

means  of  secret  communication  or  for  the  use  of  servants,  held  its 
own  in  France  throughout  the  Renaissance.  Its  structural  difficul- 
ties afforded  scope  for  the  exercise  of  that  marvellous,  if  sometimes 
superfluous,  ingenuity  which  distinguished  the  Gothic  builders. 
The  spiral  staircase  in  the  court-yard  at  Blois  is  an  example  of  this 
kind  of  skilful  engineering  and  of  the  somewhat  fatiguing  use  of 
ornament  not  infrequently  accompanying  it;  while  such  anomalies 
as  the  elaborate  out-of-door  spiral  staircase  enclosed  within  the 
building  at  Chambord  are  still  more  in  the  nature  of  a  tour  de 
force, — something  perfect  in  itself,  but  not  essential  to  the  organ- 
ism of  the  whole. 

Viollet-le-Duc,  in  his  dictionary  of  architecture,  under  the  head- 
ing Chdteau,  has  given  a  sympathetic  and  ingenious  explanation 
of  the  tenacity  with  which  the  French  aristocracy  clung  to  the 
obsolete  complications  of  Gothic  house-planning  and  structure 
long  after  frequent  expeditions  across  the  Alps  had  made  them 
familiar  with  the  simpler  and  more  rational  method  of  the  Italian 
architects.  It  may  be,  as  he  suggests,  that  centuries  of  feudal  life, 
with  its  surface  of  savagery  and  violence  and  its  undercurrent 
treachery,  had  fostered  in  the  nobles  of  northern  Europe  a  desire 
for  security  and  isolation  that  found  expression  in  the  intricate 
planning  of  their  castles  long  after  the  advance  of  civilization  had 
made  these  precautions  unnecessary.  It  seems  more  probable, 
however,  that  the  French  architects  of  the  Renaissance  made  the 
mistake  of  thinking  that  the  essence  of  the  classic  styles  lay  in  the 
choice  and  application  of  ornamental  details.  This  exaggerated 
estimate  of  the  importance  of  detail  is  very  characteristic  of  an  im- 
perfect culture;  and  the  French  architects  who  in  the  fifteenth 
century  were  eagerly  taking  their  first  lessons  from  their  contem- 
poraries south  of  the  Alps,  had  behind  them  nothing  like  the  great 


no  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

synthetic  tradition  of  the  Italian  masters.  Certainly  it  was  not 
until  the  Northern  builders  learned  that  the  beauty  of  the  old  build- 
ings was,  above  all,  a  matter  of  proportion,  that  their  own  style, 
freed  from  its  earlier  incoherencies,  set  out  on  the  line  of  unbroken 
national  development  which  it  followed  with  such  harmonious 
results  until  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

In  Italy  the  staircase  often  gave  directly  upon  the  entranceway; 
in  France  it  was  always  preceded  by  a  vestibule,  and  the  upper 
landing  invariably  led  into  an  antechamber. 

In  England  the  relation  between  vestibule,  hall  and  staircase 
was  never  so  clearly  established  as  on  the  Continent.  The  old 
English  hall,  so  long  the  centre  of  feudal  life,  preserved  its  some- 
what composite  character  after  the  grand' salle  of  France  and 
Italy  had  been  broken  up  into  the  vestibule,  the  guard-room  and 
the  saloon.  In  the  grandest  Tudor  houses  the  entrance-door  usu- 
ally opened  directly  into  this  hall.  To  obtain  in  some  measure  the 
privacy  which  a  vestibule  would  have  given,  the  end  of  the  hall 
nearest  the  entrance-door  was  often  cut  off  by  a  screen  that  sup- 
ported the  musicians'  gallery.  The  corridor  formed  by  this  screen 
led  to  the  staircase,  usually  placed  behind  the  hall,  and  the  gallery 
opened  on  the  first  landing  of  the  stairs.  This  use  of  the  screen 
at  one  end  of  the  hall  had  so  strong  a  hold  upon  English  habits 
that  it  was  never  quite  abandoned.  Even  after  French  architec- 
ture and  house-planning  had  come  into  fashion  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  a  house  with  a  vestibule  remained  the  rarest  of  excep- 
tions in  England ;  and  the  relative  privacy  afforded  by  the  Gothic 
screen  was  then  lost  by  substituting  for  the  latter  an  open  arcade, 
of  great  decorative  effect,  but  ineffectual  in  shutting  off  the  hall 
from  the  front  door. 

The  introduction  of  the  Palladian  style  by  Inigo  Jones  trans- 


Hall  and  Stairs  III 

formed  the  long  and  often  narrow  Tudor  hall  into  the  many-storied 
central  saloon  of  the  Italian  villa,  with  galleries  reached  by  con- 
cealed staircases,  and  lofty  domed  ceiling;  but  it  was  still  called  the 
hall,  it  still  served  as  a  vestibule,  or  means  of  access  to  the  rest 
of  the  house,  and,  curiously  enough,  it  usually  adjoined  another 
apartment,  often  of  the  same  dimensions,  called  a  saloon.  Per- 
haps the  best  way  of  defining  the  English  hall  of  this  period  is  to 
say  that  it  was  really  an  Italian  saloon,  but  that  it  was  used  as  a 
vestibule  and  called  a  hall. 

Through  all  these  changes  the  staircase  remained  shut  off  from 
the  hall,  upon  which  it  usually  opened.  It  was  very  unusual, 
except  in  small  middle-class  houses  or  suburban  villas,  to  put  the 
stairs  in  the  hall,  or,  more  correctly  speaking,  to  make  the  front 
door  open  into  the  staircase.  There  are,  however,  several  larger 
houses  in  which  the  stairs  are  built  in  the  hall.  Inigo  Jones,  in 
remodelling  Castle  Ashby  for  the  Earl  of  Northampton,  followed 
this  plan ;  though  this  is  perhaps  not  a  good  instance  to  cite,  as  it 
may  have  been  difficult  to  find  place  for  a  separate  staircase.  At 
Chevening,  in  Kent,  built  by  Inigo  Jones  for  the  Earl  of  Sussex, 
the  stairs  are  also  in  the  hall;  and  the  same  arrangement  is  seen  at 
Shobden  Court,  at  West  Wycombe,  built  by  J.  Donowell  for  Lord 
le  Despencer  (where  the  stairs  are  shut  off  by  a  screen)  and  at 
Hurlingham,  built  late  in  the  eighteenth  century  by  G.  Byfield. 

This  digression  has  been  made  in  order  to  show  the  origin  of 
the  modern  English  and  American  practice  of  placing  the  stairs  in 
the  hall  and  doing  away  with  the  vestibule.  The  vestibule  never 
formed  part  of  the  English  house,  but  the  stairs  were  usually 
divided  from  the  hall  in  houses  of  any  importance;  and  it  is  difficult 
to  see  whence  the  modern  architect  has  derived  his  idea  of  the 
combined  hall  and  staircase.     The  tendency  to  merge  into  one  any 


112  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

two  apartments  designed  for  different  uses  shows  a  retrogression 
in  house-planning;  and  while  it  is  fitting  that  the  vestibule  or  hall 
should  adjoin  the  staircase,  there  is  no  good  reason  for  uniting 
them  and  there  are  many  for  keeping  them  apart. 

The  staircase  in  a  private  house  is  for  the  use  of  those  who  in- 
habit it;  the  vestibule  or  hall  is  necessarily  used  by  persons  in  no 
way  concerned  with  the  private  life  of  the  inmates.  If  the  stairs, 
the  main  artery  of  the  house,  be  carried  up  through  the  vestibule, 
there  is  no  security  from  intrusion.  Even  the  plan  of  making  the 
vestibule  precede  the  staircase,  though  better,  is  not  the  best.  In 
a  properly  planned  house  the  vestibule  should  open  on  a  hall  or 
antechamber  of  moderate  size,  giving  access  to  the  rooms  on  the 
ground  floor,  and  this  antechamber  should  lead  into  the  staircase. 
It  is  only  in  houses  where  all  the  living-rooms  are  up-stairs  that  the 
vestibule  may  open  directly  into  the  staircase  without  lessening 
the  privacy  of  the  house. 

In  Italy,  where  wood  was  little  employed  in  domestic  architec- 
ture, stairs  were  usually  of  stone.  Marble  came  into  general  use 
in  the  grander  houses  when,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  the 
stairs,  instead  of  being  carried  up  between  walls,  were  often 
placed  in  an  open  staircase.  The  balustrade  was  usually  of  stone 
or  marble,  iron  being  much  less  used  than  in  France. 

In  the  latter  country  the  mediaeval  stairs,  especially  in  the 
houses  of  the  middle  class,  were  often  built  of  wood ;  but  this 
material  was  soon  abandoned,  and  from  the  time  of  Louis  XIV 
stairs  of  stone  with  wrought-iron  rails  are  a  distinctive  feature  of 
French  domestic  architecture.  The  use  of  wrought-iron  in  French 
decoration  received  a  strong  impulse  from  the  genius  of  Jean 
Lamour,  who,  when  King  Stanislas  of  Poland  remodelled  the 
town   of  Nancy   early  in   the   reign   of  Louis   XV,   adorned   its 


PLATE  XXXI. 


STAIRCASE  OF  THE  HOTEL  DE  VILLE,  NANCY. 

LOUIS    XV    PERIOD. 
BUILT    BY    HERE    DE   CORNY ;   STAIR-RAIL    BY  JEAN    LAMOUR. 


Hall  and  Stairs 


"3 


streets  and  public  buildings  with  specimens  of  iron-work  un- 
matched in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  Since  then  French  dec- 
orators have  expended  infinite  talent  in  devising  the  beautiful 
stair-rails  and  balconies  which  are  the  chief  ornament  of  innumer- 
able houses  throughout  France  (see  Plates  XXXI  and  XXXll). 

Stair-rails  of  course  followed  the  various  modifications  of  taste 
which  marked  the  architecture  of  the  day.  In  the  seventeenth 
and  early  eighteenth  centuries  they  were  noted  for  severe  richness 
of  design.  With  the  development  of  the  rocaille  manner  their  lines 
grew  lighter  and  more  fanciful,  while  the  influence  of  Gabriel, 
which,  toward  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XV,  brought  about 
a  return  to  classic  models,  manifested  itself  in  a  simplified  mode 
of  treatment.  At  this  period  the  outline  of  a  classic  baluster 
formed  a  favorite  motive  for  the  iron  rail.  Toward  the  close  of 
the  eighteenth  century  the  designs  for  these  rails  grew  thin  and 
poor,  with  a  predominance  of  upright  iron  bars  divided  at  long 
intervals  by  some  meagre  medallion  or  geometrical  figure.  The 
exuberant  sprays  and  volutes  of  the  rococo  period  and  the  archi- 
tectural lines  of  the  Louis  XVI  style  were  alike  absent  from  these 
later  designs,  which  are  chiefly  marked  by  the  negative  merit  of 
inoflFensiveness. 

In  the  old  French  stair-rails  steel  was  sometimes  combined  with 
gilded  iron.  The  famous  stair-rail  of  the  Palais  Royal,  designed 
by  Coutant  d'lvry,  is  made  of  steel  and  iron,  and  the  Due  d'Aumale 
copied  this  combination  in  the  stair-rail  at  Chantilly.  There  is 
little  to  recommend  the  substitution  of  steel  for  iron  in  such  cases. 
It  is  impossible  to  keep  a  steel  stair-rail  clean  and  free  from  rust, 
except  by  painting  it;  and  since  it  must  be  painted,  iron  is  the 
more  suitable  material. 

In   France  the   iron   rail   is   usually   painted   black,   though  a 


114  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

very  dark  blue  is  sometimes  preferred.  Black  is  the  better  color, 
as  it  forms  a  stronger  contrast  with  the  staircase  walls,  which 
are  presumably  neutral  in  tint  and  severe  in  treatment.  Besides, 
as  iron  is  painted,  not  to  improve  its  appearance,  but  to  prevent 
its  rusting,  the  color  which  most  resembles  its  own  is  more 
appropriate.  In  French  houses  of  a  certain  importance  the  iron 
stair-rail  often  had  a  few  touches  of  gilding,  but  these  were  spar- 
ingly applied. 

In  England  wooden  stair-rails  were  in  great  favor  during  the 
Tudor  and  Elizabethan  period.  These  rails  were  marked  rather 
by  fanciful  elaboration  of  detail  than  by  intrinsic  merit  of  design, 
and  are  doubtless  more  beautiful  now  that  time  has  given  them 
its  patina,  than  they  were  when  first  made. 

With  the  Palladian  style  came  the  classic  balustrade  of  stone 
or  marble,  or  sometimes,  in  simpler  houses,  of  wood.  Iron  rails 
were  seldom  used  in  England,  and  those  to  be  found  in  some  of 
the  great  London  houses  (as  in  Carlton  House,  Chesterfield  House 
and  Norfolk  House)  were  probably  due  to  the  French  influence 
which  made  itself  felt  in  English  domestic  architecture  during  the 
eighteenth  century.  This  influence,  however,  was  never  more 
than  sporadic ;  and  until  the  decline  of  decorative  art  at  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  Italian  rather  than  French  taste  gave  the 
note  to  English  decoration. 

The  interrelation  of  vestibule,  hall  and  staircase  having  been 
explained,  the  subject  of  decorative  detail  must  next  be  consid- 
ered ;  but  before  turning  to  this,  it  should  be  mentioned  that  here- 
after the  space  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  though  properly  a  part  of 
the  staircase,  will  for  the  sake  of  convenience  be  called  the  hall, 
since  in  the  present  day  it  goes  by  that  name  in  England  and 
America. 


Hall  and  Stairs 


115 


In  contrasting  the  vestibule  with  the  hall,  it  was  pointed  out  that 
the  latter  might  be  treated  in  a  gayer  and  more  informal  manner 
than  the  former.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  as  the 
vestibule  is  the  introduction  to  the  hall,  so  the  hall  is  the  introduc- 
tion to  the  living-rooms  of  the  house ;  and  it  follows  that  the  hall 
must  be  as  much  more  formal  than  the  living-rooms  as  the  vesti- 
bule is  more  formal  than  the  hall.  It  is  necessary  to  emphasize  this 
because  the  tendency  of  recent  English  and  American  decoration 
has  been  to  treat  the  hall,  not  as  a  hall,  but  as  a  living-room. 
Whatever  superficial  attractions  this  treatment  may  possess,  its  in- 
appropriateness  will  be  seen  when  the  purpose  of  the  hall  is  con- 
sidered. The  hall  is  a  means  of  access  to  all  the  rooms  on  each 
floor;  on  the  ground  floor  it  usually  leads  to  the  chief  living-rooms 
of  the  house  as  well  as  to  the  vestibule  and  street;  in  addition  to 
this,  in  modern  houses  even  of  some  importance  it  generally 
contains  the  principal  stairs  of  the  house,  so  that  it  is  the  centre 
upon  wh  ch  every  part  of  the  house  directly  or  indirectly  opens. 
This  publicity  is  increased  by  the  fact  that  the  hall  must  be  crossed 
by  the  servant  who  opens  the  front  door,  and  by  any  one  admitted 
to  the  house.  It  follows  that  the  hall,  in  relation  to  the  rooms  of 
the  house,  is  like  a  public  square  in  relation  to  the  private  houses 
around  it.  For  some  reason  this  obvious  fact  has  been  ignored  by 
many  recent  decorators,  who  have  chosen  to  treat  halls  like  rooms 
of  the  most  informal  character,  with  open  fireplaces,  easy-chairs 
for  lounging  and  reading,  tables  with  lamps,  books  and  magazines, 
and  all  the  appointments  of  a  library.  This  disregard  of  the  pur- 
pose of  the  hall,  like  most  mistakes  in  household  decoration,  has 
a  very  natural  origin.  When,  in  the  first  reaction  from  the  dis- 
comfort and  formality  of  sixty  years  ago,  people  began,  especially 
in  England,  to  study  the  arrangement  of  the  old  Tudor  and  Eliza- 


Ii6  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

bethan  houses,  many  of  these  were  found  to  contain  large  panelled 
halls  opening  directly  upon  the  porch  or  the  terrace.  The  mellow 
tones  of  the  wood-work;  the  bold  treatment  of  the  stairs,  shut  off 
as  they  were  merely  by  a  screen;  the  heraldic  imagery  of  the 
hooded  stone  chimney-piece  and  of  the  carved  or  stuccoed  ceiling, 
made  these  halls  the  chief  feature  of  the  house ;  while  the  rooms 
opening  from  them  were  so  often  insufficient  for  the  requirements 
of  modern  existence,  that  the  life  of  the  inmates  necessarily  centred 
in  the  hall.  Visitors  to  such  houses  saw  only  the  picturesqueness 
of  the  arrangement — the  huge  logs  glowing  on  the  hearth,  the 
books  and  flowers  on  the  old  carved  tables,  the  family  portraits  on 
the  walls;  and,  charmed  with  the  impression  received,  they  ordered 
their  architects  to  reproduce  for  them  a  hall  which,  even  in  the 
original  Tudor  houses,  was  a  survival  of  older  social  conditions. 

One  might  think  that  the  recent  return  to  classic  forms  of  archi- 
tecture would  have  done  away  with  the  Tudor  hall ;  but,  except 
in  a  few  instances,  this  has  not  been  the  case.  In  fact,  in  the 
greater  number  of  large  houses,  and  especially  of  country  houses, 
built  in  America  since  the  revival  of  Renaissance  and  Palladian 
architecture,  a  large  many-storied  hall  communicating  directly 
with  the  vestibule,  and  containing  the  principal  stairs  of  the 
house,  has  been  the  distinctive  feature.  If  there  were  any  prac- 
tical advantages  in  this  overgrown  hall,  it  might  be  regarded  as 
one  of  those  rational  modifications  in  plan  which  mark  the  differ- 
ence between  an  unreasoning  imitation  of  a  past  style  and  the  in- 
telligent application  of  its  principles;  but  the  Tudor  hall,  in  its 
composite  character  as  vestibule,  parlor  and  dining-room,  is  only 
another  instance  of  the  sacrifice  of  convenience  to  archaism. 

The  abnormal  development  of  the  modern  staircase-hall  can- 
not be  defended  on  the  plea  sometimes  advanced  that  it  is  a 


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Hall  and  Stairs  117 

roofed-in  adaptation  of  the  great  open  cortile  of  the  Genoese  pal- 
ace, since  there  is  no  reason  for  adapting  a  plan  so  useless  and  so 
unsuited  to  our  climate  and  way  of  living.  The  beautiful  central 
cortile  of  the  Italian  palace,  with  its  monumental  open  stairs,  was 
in  no  sense  part  of  a  "  private  house"  in  our  interpretation  of  the 
term.  It  was  rather  a  thoroughfare  like  a  public  street,  since  the 
various  stories  of  the  Italian  palace  were  used  as  separate  houses 
by  different  branches  of  the  family. 

In  most  modern  houses  the  hall,  in  spite  of  its  studied  resem- 
blance to  a  living-room,  soon  reverts  to  its  original  use  as  a  pas- 
sageway; and  this  fact  should  indicate  the  treatment  best  suited 
to  it.  In  rooms  where  people  sit,  and  where  they  are  consequently 
at  leisure  to  look  about  them,  delicacy  of  treatment  and  refinement 
of  detail  are  suitable;  but  in  an  anteroom  or  a  staircase  only  the 
first  impression  counts,  and  forcible  simple  lines,  with  a  vigorous 
massing  of  light  and  shade,  are  essential.  These  conditions  point 
to  the  use  of  severe  strongly-marked  panelling,  niches  for  vases  or 
statues,  and  a  stair-rail  detaching  itself  from  the  background  in 
vigorous  decisive  lines.^ 

The  furniture  of  the  hall  should  consist  of  benches  or  straight- 
backed  chairs,  and  marble-topped  tables  and  consoles.  If  a  press 
is  used,  it  should  be  architectural  in  design,  like  the  old  French 
and  Italian  armoires  painted  with  arabesques  and  architectural 
motives,  or  the  English  seventeenth-century  presses  made  of  some 
warm-toned  wood  like  walnut  and  surmounted  by  a  broken 
pediment  with  a  vase  or  bust  in  the  centre  (see  Plate  XXXIII). 

The  walls  of  the  staircase  in  large  houses  should  be  of  panelled 
stone  or  marble,  as  in  the  examples  given  in  the  plates  accom- 
panying this  chapter. 

1  For  a  fine  example  of  a  hall-niche  containing  a  statue,  see  Plate  XXX. 


1 1 8  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

In  small  houses,  where  an  expensive  decoration  is  out  of  the 
question,  a  somewhat  similar  architectural  effect  may  be  obtained 
by  the  use  of  a  few  plain  mouldings  fixed  to  the  plaster,  the  whole 
being  painted  in  one  uniform  tint,  or  in  two  contrasting  colors, 
such  as  white  for  the  mouldings,  and  buff,  gray,  or  pale  green  for 
the  wall.  To  this  scheme  may  be  added  plaster  medallions,  as 
suggested  for  the  vestibule,  or  garlands  and  other  architectural 
motives  made  of  staff,  in  imitation  of  the  stucco  ornaments  of  the 
old  French  and  Italian  decorators.  When  such  ornaments  are 
used,  they  should  invariably  be  simple  and  strong  in  design.  The 
modern  decorator  is  too  often  tempted  by  mere  prettiness  of  de- 
tail to  forget  the  general  effect  of  his  composition.  In  a  staircase, 
where  only  the  general  effect  is  seized,  prettiness  does  not  count, 
and  the  effect  produced  should  be  strong,  clear  and  telling; 

For  the  same  reason,  a  stair-carpet,  if  used,  should  be  of  one 
color,  without  pattern.  Masses  of  plain  color  are  one  of  the  chief 
means  of  producing  effect  in  any  scheme  of  decoration. 

When  the  floor  of  the  hall  is  of  marble  or  mosaic, — as,  if  possible, 
it  should  be, — the  design,  like  that  of  the  walls,  should  be  clear  and 
decided  in  outline  (see  Plate  XXX).  On  the  other  hand,  if  the 
hall  is  used  as  an  antechamber  and  carpeted,  the  carpet  should  be 
of  one  color,  matching  that  on  the  stairs. 

In  many  large  houses  the  stairs  are  now  built  of  stone  or  marble, 
while  the  floor  of  the  landings  is  laid  in  wood,  apparently  owing 
to  the  idea  that  stone  or  marble  floors  are  cold.  In  the  tropically- 
heated  American  house  not  even  the  most  sensitive  person  could 
be  chilled  by  passing  contact  with  a  stone  floor;  but  if  it  is 
thought  to  "look  cold,"  it  is  better  to  lay  a  rug  or  a  strip  of 
carpet  on  the  landing  than  to  permit  the  proximity  of  two  such 
different  substances  as  wood  and  stone. 


Hall  and  Stairs  1 1 9 

Unless  'he  stairs  are  of  wood,  that  material  should  never  be 
jsed  for  the  rail ;  nor  should  wooden  stairs  be  put  in  a  staircase 
of  which  the  walls  are  of  stone,  marble,  or  scagliola.  If  the  stairs 
are  of  wood,  it  is  better  to  treat  the  walls  with  wood  or  plaster 
panelling.  In  simple  staircases  the  best  wall-decoration  is  a 
wooden  dado-moulding  nailed  on  the  plaster,  the  dado  thus 
formed  being  painted  white,  and  the  wall  above  it  in  any  uniform 
color.  Continuous  pattern,  such  as  that  on  paper  or  stuff  hang- 
ings, is  specially  objectionable  on  the  walls  of  a  staircase,  since  it 
disturbs  the  simplicity  of  composition  best  fitted  to  this  part  of  the 
house. 

For  the  lighting  of  the  hall  there  should  be  a  lantern  like  that  in 
the  vestibule,  but  more  elaborate  in  design.  This  mode  of  light- 
ing harmonizes  with  the  severe  treatment  of  the  walls  and  indi- 
cates at  once  that  the  hall  is  not  a  living-room,  but  a  thoroughfare.^ 

If  lights  be  required  on  the  stairs,  they  should  take  the  form  of 
fire-gilt  bronze  sconces,  as  architectural  as  possible  in  design, 
without  any  finikin  prettiness  of  detail.  (For  good  examples,  see  the 
appliques  in  Plates  V  and  XXXIV).  It  is  almost  impossible  to  ob- 
tain well-designed  appliques  of  this  kind  in  America;  but  the 
increasing  interest  shown  in  house-decoration  will  in  time  doubt- 
less cause  a  demand  for  a  better  type  of  gas  and  electric  fixtures. 
Meantime,  unless  imported  sconces  can  be  obtained,  the  plainest 
brass  fixtures  should  be  chosen  in  preference  to  the  more  elaborate 
models  now  to  be  found  here. 

Where  the  walls  of  a  hall  are  hung  with  pictures,  these  should 
be  few  in  number,  and  decorative  in  composition  and  coloring. 
No  subject  requiring  thought  and  study  is  suitable  in   such   a 

1  In  large  halls  the  tall  torchere  of  marble  or  bronze  may  be  used  for  additional 
lights  (see  Plate  XXXII). 


I20  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

position.  The  mythological  or  architectural  compositions  of  the 
Italian  and  French  schools  of  the  last  two  centuries,  with  their 
superficial  graces  of  color  and  design,  are  for  this  reason  well 
suited  to  the  walls  of  halls  and  antechambers. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  prints.  These  should  not  be  used  in 
a  large  high-studded  hall;  but  they  look  well  in  a  small  entrance- 
way,  if  hung  on  plain-tinted  walls.  Here  again  such  architectural 
compositions  as  Piranesi's,  with  their  bold  contrasts  of  light  and 
shade,  Marc  Antonio's  classic  designs,  or  some  frieze-like  proces- 
sion, such  as  Mantegna's  "Triumph  of  Julius  Caesar,"  are  espe- 
cially appropriate;  whereas  the  subtle  detail  of  the  German  Little 
Masters,  the  symbolism  of  Diirer's  etchings  and  the  graces  of 
Marillier  or  Moreau  le  Jeune  would  be  wasted  in  a  situation  where 
there  is  small  opportunity  for  more  than  a  passing  glance. 

In  most  American  houses,  the  warming  of  hall  and  stairs  is  so 
amply  provided  for  that  where  there  is  a  hall  fireplace  it  is  sel- 
dom used.  In  country  houses,  where  it  is  sometimes  necessary 
to  have  special  means  for  heating  the  hall,  the  open  fireplace  is  of 
more  service;  but  it  is  not  really  suited  to  such  a  situation.  The 
hearth  suggests  an  idea  of  intimacy  and  repose  that  has  no 
place  in  a  thoroughfare  like  the  hall ;  and,  aside  from  this  question 
of  fitness,  there  is  a  practical  objection  to  placing  an  open  chim- 
ney-piece in  a  position  where  it  is  exposed  to  continual  draughts 
from  the  front  door  and  from  the  rooms  giving  upon  the  hall. 

The  best  way  of  heating  a  hall  is  by  means  of  a  faience  stove — 
not  the  oblong  block  composed  of  shiny  white  or  brown  tiles 
seen  in  Swiss  and  German  pensions,  but  one  of  the  fine  old  stoves 
of  architectural  design  still  used  on  the  Continent  for  heating  the 
vestibule  and  dining-room.  In  Europe,  increased  attention  has  of 
late  been  given  to  the  design  and  coloring  of  these  stoves ;  and  if 


PLATE  XXXIII. 


FRENCH  ARMOIRE,  LOUIS  XIV  PERIOD. 

MUSEUM    OF   DECORATIVE   ARTS.  PARIS. 


Hall  and  Stairs  121 

better  known  here,  they  would  form  an  important  feature  in  the 
decoration  of  our  halls.  Admirable  models  may  be  studied  in 
many  old  French  and  German  houses  and  on  the  borders  of 
Switzerland  and  Italy;  while  the  museum  at  Parma  contains 
several  fine  examples  of  the  rocaille  period. 


THE  DRAWING-ROOM,  BOUDOIR,  AND 
MORNING-ROOM 

THE  "  with-drawing-room  "  of  medieval  England,  to  which 
the  lady  and  her  maidens  retired  from  the  boisterous  fes- 
tivities of  the  hall,  seems  at  first  to  have  been  merely  a  part  of  the 
bedchamber  in  which  the  lord  and  lady  slept.  In  time  it  came 
to  be  screened  off  from  the  sleeping-room  ;  then,  in  the  king's 
palaces,  it  became  a  separate  room  for  the  use  of  the  queen  and 
her  damsels ;  and  so,  in  due  course,  reached  the  nobleman's 
castle,  and  established  itself  as  a  permanent  part  of  English 
house-planning. 

In  France  the  evolution  of  the  salon  seems  to  have  proceeded  on 
somewhat  different  lines.  During  the  middle  ages  and  the  early 
Renaissance  period,  the  more  public  part  of  the  nobleman's  life 
was  enacted  in  the  hall,  or  grand' salle,  while  the  social  and 
domestic  side  of  existence  was  transferred  to  the  bedroom.  This 
was  soon  divided  into  two  rooms,  as  in  England.  In  France, 
however,  both  these  rooms  contained  beds  ;  the  inner  being  the 
real  sleeping-chamber,  while  in  the  outer  room,  which  was  used 
not  only  for  administering  justice  and  receiving  visits  of  state, 
but  for  informal  entertainments  and  the  social  side  of  family  life, 
the  bedstead  represented  the  lord's  lit  de  parade,  traditionally 
associated  with  state  ceremonial  and  feudal  privileges. 


PLATF.  XXXiy. 


SALA  DELLA  MADDALENA,  ROYAL  PALACE,  GENOA. 

XVIII    CENTURY. 
(ITALIAN    DRAWING-ROOM    IN    ROCAILLE   STYLE.) 


Drawing-Room,  Boudoir,  and  Morning-Room    123 

The  custom  of  having  a  state  bedroom  in  which  no  one  slept 
{chambre  de  parade,  as  it  was  called)  was  so  firmly  established 
that  even  in  the  engravings  of  Abraham  Bosse,  representing 
French  life  in  the  reign  of  Louis  Xlll,  the  fashionable  apartments 
in  which  card-parties,  suppers,  and  other  entertainments  are 
taking  place,  invariably  contain  a  bed. 

In  large  establishments  the  cbambre  de  parade  was  never  used 
as  a  sleeping-chamber  except  by  visitors  of  distinction  ;  but  in 
small  houses  the  lady  slept  in  the  room  which  served  as  her 
boudoir  and  drawing-room.  The  Renaissance,  it  is  true,  had  in- 
troduced from  Italy  the  cabinet  opening  off  the  lady's  chamber, 
as  in  the  palaces  of  Urbino  and  Mantua  ;  but  these  rooms  were 
at  first  seen  only  in  kings'  palaces,  and  were,  moreover,  too 
small  to  serve  any  social  purpose.  The  cabinet  of  Catherine  de' 
Medici  at  Blois  is  a  characteristic  example. 

Mean\yhile,  the  gallery  had  relieved  the  grand' salle  of  some  of 
its  numerous  uses;  and  these  two  apartments  seem  to  have  satisfied 
all  the  requirements  of  society  during  the  Renaissance  in  France. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  the  introduction  of  the  two-storied 
Italian  saloon  produced  a  state  apartment  called  a  salon  ;  and  this, 
towards  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  was  divided 
into  two  smaller  rooms  :  one,  the  salon  de  compagnie,  remaining 
a  part  of  the  gala  suite  used  exclusively  for  entertaining  (see  Plate 
XXXIV),  while  the  other  —  the  salon  de  famiUe  —  became  a 
family  apartment  like  the  English  drawing-room. 

The  distinction  between  the  salon  de  compagnie  and  the  salon  de 
famille  hud  by  this  time  also  established  itself  in  England,  where 
the  state  drawing-room  retained  its  Italian  name  of  salone,  or 
saloon,  while  the  living-apartment  preserved,  in  abbreviated  form, 
the  mediaeval  designation  of  the  lady's  with-drawing-room. 


124  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

Pains  have  been  taken  to  trace  as  clearly  as  possible  the  mixed 
ancestry  of  the  modern  drawing-room,  in  order  to  show  that  it  is 
the  result  of  two  distinct  influences  —  that  of  the  gala  apartment 
and  that  of  the  family  sitting-room.  This  twofold  origin  has  cu- 
riously affected  the  development  of  the  drawing-room.  In  houses 
of  average  size,  where  there  are  but  two  living-rooms  —  the  mas- 
ter's library,  or  "den,"  and  the  lady's  drawing-room, —  it  is  obvi- 
ous that  the  latter  ought  to  be  used  as  a  salon  defatniUe,  or  meet- 
ing-place for  the  whole  family ;  and  it  is  usually  regarded  as  such 
in  England,  where  common  sense  generally  prevails  in  matters  of 
material  comfort  and  convenience,  and  where  the  drawing-room 
is  often  furnished  with  a  simplicity  which  would  astonish  those 
who  associate  the  name  with  white-and-gold  walls  and  uncom- 
fortable furniture. 

In  modern'  American  houses  both  traditional  influences  are  seen. 
Sometimes,  as  in  England,  the  drawing-room  is  treated  as  a  family 
apartment,  and  provided  with  books,  lamps,  easy-chairs  and 
writing-tables.  In  other  houses  it  is  still  considered  sacred  to 
gilding  and  discomfort,  the  best  room  in  the  house,  and  the  con- 
venience of  all  its  inmates,  being  sacrificed  to  a  vague  feeling  that 
no  drawing-room  is  worthy  of  the  name  unless  it  is  uninhabitable. 
This  is  an  instance  of  the  saloii  de  compagnie  having  usurped  the 
rightful  place  of  the  salon  defamille;  or  rather,  if  the  bourgeois  de- 
scent of  the  American  house  be  considered,  it  may  be  more  truly 
defined  as  a  remnant  of  the  "  best  parlor"  superstition. 

Whatever  the  genealogy  of  the  American  drawing-room,  it 
must  be  owned  that  it  too  often  fails  to  fulfil  its  purpose  as  a  fam- 
ily apartment.  It  is  curious  to  note  the  amount  of  thought  and 
money  frequently  spent  on  the  one  room  in  the  house  used  by  no 
one,  or  occupied  at  mostjor  an  hour  after  a  "company  "  dinner. 


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Drawing-Room,  Boudoir,  and  Morning-Room    125 

To  this  drawing-room,  from  which  the  inmates  of  the  house  in- 
stinctively flee  as  soon  as  their  social  duties  are  discharged,  many 
necessities  are  often  sacrificed.  The  library,  or  den,  where  the 
members  of  the  family  sit,  may  be  furnished  with  shabby  odds 
and  ends;  but  the  drawing-room  must  have  its  gilt  chairs  cov- 
ered with  brocade,  its  vitrines  full  of  modern  Saxe,  its  guipure 
curtains  and  velvet  carpet. 

The  salon  de  compagnie  is  out  of  place  in  the  average  house. 
Such  a  room  is  needed  only  where  the  dinners  or  other  entertain- 
ments given  are  so  large  as  to  make  it  impossible  to  use  the  ordi- 
nary living-rooms  of  the  house.  In  the  grandest  houses  of  Europe 
the  gala-rooms  are  never  thrown  open  except  for  general  enter- 
tainments, or  to  receive  guests  of  exalted  rank,  and  the  spectacle 
of  a  dozen  people  languishing  after  dinner  in  the  gilded  wilderness 
of  a  state  saloon  is  practically  unknown. 

The  purpose  for  which  the  salon  de  compagnie  is  used  necessi- 
tates its  being  furnished  in  the  same  formal  manner  as  other  gala 
apartments.  Circulation  must  not  be  impeded  by  a  multiplicity 
of  small  pieces  of  furniture  holding  lamps  or  other  fragile  objects, 
while  at  least  half  of  the  chairs  should  be  so  light  and  easily  moved 
that  groups  may  be  formed  and  broken  up  at  will.  The  walls 
should  be  brilliantly  decorated,  without  needless  elaboration  of 
detail,  since  it  is  unlikely  that  the  temporary  occupants  of  such 
a  room  will  have  time  or  inclination  to  study  its  treatment  closely. 
The  chief  requisite  is  a  gay  first  impression.  To  produce  this, 
the  wall-decoration  should  be  light  in  color,  and  the  furniture 
should  consist  of  a  few  strongly  marked  pieces,  such  as  hand- 
some cabinets  and  consoles,  bronze  or  marble  statues,  and  vases 
and  candelabra  of  imposing  proportions.  Almost  all  modern 
furniture  is  too  weak  in  design  and  too  finikin  in  detail  to  look 


126  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

well  in  a  gala  drawing-room.^  (For  examples  of  drawing-room 
furniture,  see  Plates  VI,  IX,  XXXIV,  and  XXXV.) 

Beautiful  pictures  or  rare  prints  produce  little  effect  on  the  walls 
of  a  gala  room,  just  as  an  accumulation  of  small  objects  of  art, 
such  as  enamels,  ivories  and  miniatures,  are  wasted  upon  its 
tables  and  cabinets.  Such  treasures  are  for  rooms  in  which  people 
spend  their  days,  not  for  those  in  which  they  assemble  for  an 
hour's  entertainment. 

But  the  salon  de  compagnie,  being  merely  a  modified  form  of 
the  great  Italian  saloon,  is  a  part  of  the  gala  suite,  and  any  detailed 
discussion  of  the  decorative  treatment  most  suitable  to  it  would 
result  in  a  repetition  of  what  is  said  in  the  chapter  on  Gala  Rooms. 

The  lighting  of  the  company  drawing-room  —  to  borrow  its 
French  designation  —  should  be  evenly  diffused,  without  the  sepa- 
rate centres  of  illumination  needful  in  a  family  living-room.  The 
proper  light  is  that  of  wax  candles.  Nothing  has  done  more  to 
vulgarize  interior  decoration  than  the  general  use  of  gas  and  of 
electricity  in  the  living-rooms  of  modern  houses.  Electric  light 
especially,  with  its  harsh  white  glare,  which  no  expedients  have 
as  yet  overcome,  has  taken  from  our  drawing-rooms  all  air  of 
privacy  and  distinction.  In  passageways  and  offices,  electricity  is 
of  great  service;  but  were  it  not  that  all  "modern  improvements" 
are  thought  equally  applicable  to  every  condition  of  life,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  account  for  the  adoption  of  a  mode  of  lighting  which 
makes  the  salon  look  like  a  railway-station,  the  dining-room  like  a 
restaurant.  That  such  light  is  not  needful  in  a  drawing-room  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  electric  bulbs  are  usually  covered  by  shades 

1  Much  of  the  old  furniture  which  appears  to  us  unnecessarily  stiff  and  monu- 
mental was  expressly  designed  to  be  placed  against  the  walls  in  rooms  used  for  gen- 
eral entertainments,  where  smaller  and  more  delicately  made  pieces  would  have 
been  easily  damaged,  and  would,  moreover,  have  produced  no  effect. 


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Drawing-Room,  Boudoir,  and  Morning-Room    127 

of  some  deep  color,  in  order  that  the  glare  may  be  made  as  in- 
offensive as  possible. 

The  light  in  a  gala  apartment  should  be  neither  vivid  nor 
concentrated  :  the  soft,  evenly  diffused  brightness  of  wax  candles 
is  best  fitted  to  bring  out  those  subtle  modellings  of  light  and 
shade  to  which  old  furniture  and  objects  of  art  owe  half  their 
expressiveness. 

The  treatment  of  the  salon  de  compagnie  naturally  differs  from 
that  of  the  family  drawing-room:  the  latter  is  essentially  a  room 
in  which  people  should  be  made  comfortable.  There  must  be  a 
well-appointed  writing-table;  the  chairs  must  be  conveniently 
grouped  about  various  tables,  each  with  its  lamp;  —  in  short,  the 
furniture  should  be  so  disposed  that  people  are  not  forced  to  take 
refuge  in  their  bedrooms  for  lack  of  fitting  arrangements  in  the 
drawing-room. 

The  old  French  cabinet-makers  excelled  in  the  designing  and 
making  of  furniture  for  the  salon  de  famiUe.  The  term  "  French 
furniture "  suggests  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  mind  the  stiff  appoint- 
ments of  the  gala  room  —  heavy  gilt  consoles,  straight-backed 
arm-chairs  covered  with  tapestry,  and  monumental  marble-topped 
tables.  Admirable  furniture  of  this  kind  was  made  in  France;  but 
in  the  grand  style  the  Italian  cabinet-makers  competed  success- 
fully with  the  French ;  whereas  the  latter  stood  alone  in  the  pro- 
duction of  the  simpler  and  more  comfortable  furniture  adapted  to 
the  family  living-room.  Among  those  who  have  not  studied  the 
subject  there  is  a  general  impression  that  eighteenth-century  furni- 
ture, however  beautiful  in  design  and  execution,  was  not  com- 
fortable in  the  modern  sense.  This  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
popular  idea  of  "  old  furniture  "  is  based  on  the  appointments  of 
gala  rooms  in  palaces :  visitors  to  Versailles  or  Fontainebleau  are 


128  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

more  likely  to  notice  the  massive  gilt  consoles  and  benches  in  the 
state  saloons  than  the  simple  easy-chairs  and  work-tables  of  the 
petits  appartements.  A  visit  to  the  Garde  Meuble  or  to  the  Mu- 
see  des  Arts  Decoratifs  of  Paris,  or  the  inspection  of  any  collection 
of  French  eighteenth-century  furniture,  will  show  the  versatility 
and  common  sense  of  the  old  French  cabinet-makers.  They  pro- 
duced an  infinite  variety  of  small  meubles,  in  which  beauty  of  de- 
sign and  workmanship  were  joined  to  simplicity  and  convenience. 

The  old  arm-chair,  or  bergere,  is  a  good  example  of  this  com- 
bination. The  modern  upholsterer  pads  and  puffs  his  seats  as 
though  they  were  to  form  the  furniture  of  a  lunatic's  cell ;  and 
then,  having  expanded  them  to  such  dimensions  that  they  can- 
not be  moved  without  effort,  perches  their  dropsical  bodies  on 
four  little  casters.  Any  one  who  compares  such  an  arm-chair  to 
the  eighteenth-century  bergere,  with  its  strong  tapering  legs,  its 
snugly-fitting  back  and  cushioned  seat,  must  admit  that  the 
latter  is  more  convenient  and  more  beautiful  (see  Plates  VIII 
and  XXXVIl). 

The  same  may  be  said  of  the  old  French  tables  —  from  desks, 
card  and  work-tables,  to  the  small  guiridon  just  large  enough 
to  hold  a  book  and  candlestick.  All  these  tables  were  simple  and 
practical  in  design:  even  in  the  Louis  XV  period,  when  more 
variety  of  outline  and  ornament  was  permitted,  the  strong 
structural  lines  were  carefully  maintained,  and  it  is  unusual  to  see 
an  old  table  that  does  not  stand  firmly  on  its  legs  and  appear 
capable  of  supporting  as  much  weight  as  its  size  will  permit 
(see  Louis  XV  writing-table  in  Plate  XLVI). 

The  French  tables,  cabinets  and  commodes  used  in  the  family 
apartments  were  usually  of  inlaid  wood,  with  little  ornamentation 
save  the  design  of  the  marquetry  —  elaborate  mounts  of  chiselled 


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Drawing-Room,   Boudoir,  and  Morning-Room    129 

bronze  being  reserved  for  the  furniture  of  gala  rooms  (see  Plate 
X).  Old  French  rnarquetry  was  exquisitely  delicate  in  color  and 
design,  while  Italian  inlaying  of  the  same  period,  though  coarser, 
was  admirable  in  composition.  Old  Italian  furniture  of  the  seven- 
teenth and  eighteenth  centuries  was  always  either  inlaid  or  carved 
and  painted  in  gay  colors:  chiselled  mounts  are  virtually  unknown 
in  Italy. 

The  furniture  of  the  eighteenth  century  in  England,  while  not 
comparable  in  design  to  the  best  French  models,  was  well  made 
and  dignified;  and  its  angularity  of  outline  is  not  out  of  place 
against  the  somewhat  cold  and  formal  background  of  an  Adam 
room. 

English  marquetry  suffered  from  the  poverty  of  ornament 
marking  the  wall-decoration  of  the  period.  There  was  a  certain 
timidity  about  the  decorative  compositions  of  the  school  of  Adam 
and  Sheraton,  and  in  their  scanty  repertoire  the  laurel-wreath,  the 
velarium  and  the  cornucopia  reappear  with  tiresome  frequency. 

The  use  to  which  the  family  drawing-room  is  put  should  in- 
dicate the  character  of  its  decoration.  Since  it  is  a  room  in  which 
many  hours  of  the  day  are  spent,  and  in  which  people  are  at 
leisure,  it  should  contain  what  is  best  worth  looking  at  in  the  way 
of-pictures,  prints,  and  other  objects  of  art;  while  there  should  be 
nothing  about  its  decoration  so  striking  or  eccentric  as  to  become 
tiresome  when  continually  seen.  A  fanciful  style  may  be  pleasing 
in  apartments  used  only  for  stated  purposes,  such  as  the  saloon 
or  gallery ;  but  in  a  living-room,  decoration  should  be  subordinate 
to  the  individual,  forming  merely  a  harmonious  but  unobtrusive 
background  (see  Plates  XXXVI  and  XXXVII).  Such  a  setting 
also  brings  out  the  full  decorative  value  of  all  the  drawing-room 
accessories  —  screens,  andirons,  appliques,   and  door  and  win- 


130  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

dow-fastenings.  A  study  of  any  old  French  interior  will  show 
how  much  these  details  contributed  to  the  general  effect  of  the 
room. 

Those  who  really  care  for  books  are  seldom  content  to  restrict 
them  to  the  library,  for  nothing  adds  more  to  the  charm  of  a 
drawing-room  than  a  well-designed  bookcase:  an  expanse  of 
beautiful  bindings  is  as  decorative  as  a  fine  tapestry. 

The  boudoir  is,  properly  speaking,  a  part  of  the  bedroom  suite, 
and  as  such  is  described  in  the  chapter  on  the  Bedroom.  Some- 
times, however,  a  small  sitting-room  adjoins  the  family  drawing- 
room,  and  this,  if  given  up  to  the  mistress  of  the  house,  is  virtually 
the  boudoir. 

The  modern  boudoir  is  a  very  different  apartment  from  its 
eighteenth-century  prototype.  Though  it  may  preserve  the  deli- 
cate decorations  and  furniture  suggested  by  its  name,  such  a 
room  is  now  generally  used  for  the  prosaic  purpose  of  interview- 
ing servants,  going  over  accounts  and  similar  occupations.  The 
appointments  should  therefore  comprise  a  writing-desk,  with 
pigeon-holes,  drawers,  and  cupboards,  and  a  comfortable  lounge, 
or  lit  de  repos,  for  resting  and  reading. 

The  ///  de  repos,  which,  except  in  France,  has  been  replaced  by 
the  clumsy  upholstered  lounge,  was  one  of  the  most  useful  pieces 
of  eighteenth-century  furniture  (see  Plate  XXXVIII).  As  its  name 
implies,  it  is  shaped  somewhat  like  a  bed,  or  rather  like  a  cradle 
that  stands  on  four  legs  instead  of  swinging.  It  is  made  of 
carved  wood,  sometimes  upholstered,  but  often  seated  with  cane 
(see  Plate  XXXIX).  In  the  latter  case  it  is  fitted  with  a  mattress 
and  with  a  pillow-like  cushion  covered  with  some  material  in 
keeping  with  the  hangings  of  the  room.  Sometimes  the  duchcsse, 
or  upholstered  bergere  with  removable  foot-rest  in  the  shape  of  a 


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Drawing-Room,  Boudoir,  and  Morning- Room    131 

square  bench,  is  preferred  to  the  ///  de  repos;  but  the  latter  is  the 
more  elegant  and  graceful,  and  it  is  strange  that  it  should  have 
been  discarded  in  favor  of  the  modern  lounge,  which  is  not  only 
ugly,  but  far  less  comfortable. 

As  the  boudoir  is  generally  a  small  room,  it  is  peculiarly  suited 
to  the  more  delicate  styles  of  painting  or  stucco  ornamentation 
described  in  the  third  chapter.  A  study  of  boudoir-decoration  in 
the  last  century,  especially  in  France,  will  show  the  admirable 
sense  of  proportion  regulating  the  treatment  of  these  little  rooms 
(see  Plate  XL).  Their  adornment  was  naturally  studied  with  spe- 
cial care  by  the  painters  and  decorators  of  an  age  in  which  women 
played  so  important  a  part. 

It  is  sometimes  thought  that  the  eighteenth-century  boudoir  was 
always  decorated  and  furnished  in  a  very  elaborate  manner.  This 
idea  originates  in  the  fact,  already  pointed  out,  that  the  rooms 
usually  seen  by  tourists  are  those  in  royal  palaces,  or  in  such 
princely  houses  as  are  thrown  open  to  the  public  on  account  of 
their  exceptional  magnificence.  The  same  type  of  boudoir  is  con- 
tinually reproduced  in  books  on  architecture  and  decoration;  and 
what  is  really  a  small  private  sitting-room  for  the  lady  of  the 
house,  corresponding  with  her  husband's  "den,"  has  thus  come 
to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  luxuries  of  a  great  establishment. 

The  prints  of  Eisen,  Marillier,  Moreau  le  Jeune,  and  other  book- 
illustrators  of  the  eighteenth  century,  show  that  the  boudoir  in  the 
average  private  house  was,  in  fact,  a  simple  room,  gay  and  grace- 
ful in  decoration,  but  as  a  rule  neither  rich  nor  elaborate  (see  Plate 
XLI).  As  it  usually  adjoined  the  bedroom,  it  was  decorated  in  the 
same  manner,  and  even  when  its  appointments  were  expensive 
all  appearance  of  costliness  was  avoided.^ 

1  The  omate  boudoir  seen  in  many  XVIIIth-century  prints  is  that  of  tixe/emme^alante. 


132  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

The  boudoir  is  the  room  in  which  small  objects  of  art  —  prints, 
mezzotints  and  gouaches —  show  to  the  best  advantage.  No  detail 
is  wasted,  and  all  manner  of  delicate  effects  in  wood-carving,  mar- 
quetry, and  other  ornamentation,  such  as  would  be  lost  upon  the 
walls  and  furniture  of  a  larger  room,  here  acquire  their  full  value. 
One  or  two  well-chosen  prints  hung  on  a  background  of  plain 
color  will  give  more  pleasure  than  a  medley  of  photographs, 
colored  photogravures,  and  other  decorations  of  the  cotillon- 
favor  type.  Not  only  do  mediocre  ornaments  become  tiresome 
when  seen  day  after  day,  but  the  mere  crowding  of  furniture  and 
gimcracks  into  a  small  room  intended  for  work  and  repose  will 
soon  be  found  fatiguing. 

Many  English  houses,  especially  in  the  country,  contain  a  use- 
ful room  called  the  "morning-room,"  which  is  well  defined  by 
Robert  Kerr,  in  The  English  Gentleman's  House,  as  "the  draw- 
ing-room in  ordinary."  It  is,  in  fact,  a  kind  of  undress  drawing- 
room,  where  the  family  may  gather  informally  at  all  hours  of  the 
day.  The  out-of-door  life  led  in  England  makes  it  specially  ne- 
cessary to  provide  a  sitting-room  which  people  are  not  afraid  to 
enter  in  muddy  boots  and  wet  clothes.  Even  if  the  drawing- 
room  be  not,  as  Mr.  Kerr  quaintly  puts  it,  "preserved" — that  is, 
used  exclusively  for  company  —  it  is  still  likely  to  contain  the 
best  furniture  in  the  house;  and  though  that  "best"  is  not  too 
fine  for  every-day  use,  yet  in  a  large  family  an  informal,  wet- 
weather  room  of  this  kind  is  almost  indispensable. 

No  matter  how  elaborately  the  rest  of  the  house  is  furnished, 
the  appointments  of  the  morning-room  should  be  plain,  comfort- 
able, and  capable  of  resisting  hard  usage.  It  is  a  good  plan  to 
cover  the  floor  with  a  straw  matting,  and  common  sense  at  once 
suggests  the  furniture  best  suited  to  such  a  room:  two  or  three 


PLATE  XL 


PAINTED  WALL-PANEL  AND  DOOR,  CHATEAU  OF 
CHANTILLY.     LOUIS  XV. 
(example  of  chinoiserie  decoration.) 


•   *€    1    e  • 


PLATE  XLI. 


a^mjm^wifmmpm 


Sa  tT'ilte  amante  abaaidoiinee.,  .  ii>  m 

Pleure  ses   niaux  et  ses  plai/ir^ .,  i'/>  ',,  j  ;'  '> , 


FRENCH  BOUDOIR,  LOUIS  XVI  PERIOD. 
(from  a  print  by  l.e  bouteux.) 


Drawing-Room,  Boudoir,  and  Morning-Room    133 

good-sized  tables  with  lamps,  a  comfortable  sofa,  and  chairs 
covered  with  chintz,  leather,  or  one  of  the  bright-colored  horse- 
hairs now  manufactured  in  France. 


XI 


GALA  ROOMS  :  BALL-ROOM,  SALOON,  MUSIC- 
ROOM,   GALLERY 

EUROPEAN  architects  have  always  considered  it  essentia!  that 
those  rooms  which  are  used  exclusively  for  entertaining  — 
gala  rooms,  as  they  are  called  —  should  be  quite  separate  from  the 
family  apartments, —  either  occupying  an  entire  floor  (the  Italian 
piano  nobile)  or  being  so  situated  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  open 
them  except  for  general  entertainments. 

In  many  large  houses  lately  built  in  America,  with  ball  and 
music  rooms  and  a  hall  simulating  the  two-storied  Italian  saloon, 
this  distinction  has  been  disregarded,  and  living  and  gala  rooms 
have  been  confounded  in  an  agglomeration  of  apartments  where 
the  family,  for  lack  of  a  smaller  suite,  sit  under  gilded  ceilings  and 
cut-glass  chandeliers,  in  about  as  much  comfort  and  privacy  as 
are  afforded  by  the  public  "parlors"  of  one  of  our  new  twenty- 
story  hotels.  This  confusion  of  two  essentially  different  types  of 
room,  designed  for  essentially  different  phases  of  life,  has  been 
caused  by  the  fact  that  the  architect,  when  called  upon  to  build  a 
grand  house,  has  simply  enlarged,  instead  of  altering,  the  maison 
bourgeoise  that  has  hitherto  been  the  accepted  model  of  the 
American  gentleman's  house;  for  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
the  modern  American  dwelling  descends  from  the  English  mid- 

XS4 


Ball-Room,  Saloon,  Music-Room,  Gallery   135 

die-class  house,  not  from  the  aristocratic  country-seat  or  town 
residence.  The  English  nobleman's  town  house  was  like  the 
French  hdtel,  with  gates,  porter's  lodge,  and  court-yard  sur- 
rounded by  stables  and  offices ;  and  the  planning  of  the  countrj'- 
seat  was  even  more  elaborate. 

A  glance  at  any  collection  of  old  English  house-plans,  such  as 
Campbell's  yitruvius  'Britannicus,  will  show  the  purely  middle- 
class  ancestry  of  the  American  house,  and  the  consequent  futility 
of  attempting,  by  the  mere  enlargement  of  each  room,  to  turn  it 
into  a  gentleman's  seat  or  town  residence.  The  kind  of  life  which 
makes  gala  rooms  necessary  exacts  a  different  method  of  planning ; 
and  until  this  is  more  generally  understood  the  treatment  of  such 
rooms  in  American  houses  will  never  be  altogether  satisfactory. 

Gala  rooms  are  meant  for  general  entertainments,  never  for  any 
assemblage  small  or  informal  enough  to  be  conveniently  accom- 
modated in  the  ordinary  living-rooms  of  the  house ;  therefore  to 
fulfil  their  purpose  they  must  be  large,  very  high-studded,  and  not 
overcrowded  with  furniture,  while  the  walls  and  ceiling — the 
only  parts  of  a  crowded  room  that  can  be  seen — must  be  deco- 
rated with  greater  elaboration  than  would  be  pleasing  or  appro- 
priate in  other  rooms.  All  these  conditions  unfit  the  gala  room 
for  any  use  save  that  for  which  it  is  designed.  Nothing  can  be 
more  cheerless  than  the  state  of  a  handful  of  people  sitting  after 
dinner  in  an  immense  ball-room  with  gilded  ceiling,  bare  floors, 
and  a  few  pieces  of  monumental  furniture  ranged  round  the  walls ; 
yet  in  any  house  which  is  simply  an  enlargement  of  the  ordinary 
private  dwelling  the  hostess  is  often  compelled  to  use  the  ball- 
room or  saloon  as  a  drawing-room. 

A  gala  room  is  never  meant  to  be  seen  except  when  crowded : 
the  crowd  takes  the  place  of  furniture.    Occupied  by  a  small  num- 


1 36  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

ber  of  people,  such  a  room  looks  out  of  proportion,  stiff  and 
empty.  The  hostess  feels  this,  and  tries,  by  setting  chairs  and 
tables  askew,  and  introducing  palms,  screens  and  knick-knacks, 
to  produce  an  effect  of  informality.  As  a  result  the  room  dwarfs 
the  furniture,  loses  the  air  of  state,  and  gains  little  in  real  comfort; 
while  it  becomes  necessary,  when  a  party  is  given,  to  remove  the 
furniture  and  disarrange  the  house,  thus  undoing  the  chief  raison 
d'etre  of  such  apartments. 

The  Italians,  inheriting  the  grandiose  traditions  of  the  Augustan 
age,  have  always  excelled  in  the  treatment  of  rooms  demanding 
the  "grand  manner."  Their  unfailing  sense  that  house-decoration 
is  interior  architecture,  and  must  clearly  proclaim  its  architectural 
affiliations,  has  been  of  special  service  in  this  respect.  It  is  rare  in 
Italy  to  see  a  large  room  inadequately  treated.  Sometimes  the 
"grand  manner" — the  mimic  ierribilitd  —  may  be  carried  too  far 
to  suit  Anglo-Saxon  taste  —  it  is  hard  to  say  for  what  form  of  en- 
tertainment such  a  room  as  Giulio  Romano's  Sala  dei  Giganti  in 
the  Palazzo  del  T  would  form  a  pleasing  or  appropriate  back- 
ground—  but  apart  from  such  occasional  aberrations,  the  Italian 
decorators  showed  a  wonderful  sense  of  fitness  in  the  treatment  of 
state  apartments.  To  small  dribbles  of  ornament  they  preferred 
bold  forcible  mouldings,  coarse  but  clear-cut  free-hand  orna- 
mentation in  stucco,  and  either  a  classic  severity  of  treatment  or 
the  turbulent  bravura  style  of  the  saloon  of  the  Villa  Rotonda  and 
of  Tiepolo's  Cleopatra  frescoes  in  the  Palazzo  Labia  at  Venice. 

The  saloon  and  gallery  are  the  two  gala  rooms  borrowed 
from  Italy  by  northern  Europe.  The  saloon  has  already  been  de- 
scribed in  the  chapter  on  Hall  and  Stairs.  It  was  a  two-storied 
apartment,  usually  with  clerestory,  domed  ceiling,  and  a  gal- 
lery to  which  access  was  obtained  by  concealed  staircases  (see 


PL/1TE  XLII. 


SALON  A  L'lTALIENNE. 
(from  a  picture  by  coypel.) 


Bali-Room,  Saloon,  Music-Room,  Gallery   137 

Plates  XLII  and  XLIII).  This  gallery  was  often  treated  as  an  ar- 
cade or  loggia,  and  in  many  old  Italian  prints  and  pictures  there 
are  representations  of  these  saloons,  with  groups  of  gaily  dressed 
people  looking  down  from  the  gallery  upon  the  throngs  crowding 
the  floor.  The  saloon  was  used  in  Italy  as  a  ball-room  or  gam- 
bling-room—  gaming  being  the  chief  social  amusement  of  the 
eighteenth  century. 

In  England  and  France  the  saloon  was  rarely  two  stories  high, 
though  there  are  some  exceptions,  as  for  example  the  saloon  at 
Vaux-le-Vicomte.  The  cooler  climate  rendered  a  clerestory  less 
necessary,  and  there  was  never  the  same  passion  for  grandiose  ef- 
fects as  in  Italy.  The  saloon  in  northern  Europe  was  always  a 
stately  and  high-studded  room,  generally  vaulted  or  domed,  and 
often  circular  in  plan ;  but  it  seldom  reached  such  imposing  dimen- 
sions as  its  Italian  prototype,  and  when  more  than  one  story  high 
was  known  by  the  distinctive  designation  of  un  salon  d  I'italienne. 

The  gallery  was  probably  the  first  feature  in  domestic  house- 
planning  to  be  borrowed  from  Italy  by  northern  Europe.  It  is 
seen  in  almost  all  the  early  Renaissance  chateaux  of  France;  and 
as  soon  as  the  influence  of  such  men  as  John  of  Padua  and  John 
Shute  asserted  itself  in  England,  the  gallery  became  one  of  the 
principal  apartments  of  the  Elizabethan  mansion.  There  are  sev- 
eral reasons  for  the  popularity  of  the  gallery.  In  the  cold  rainy 
autumns  and  winters  north  of  the  Alps  it  was  invaluable  as  a 
sheltered  place  for  exercise  and  games ;  it  was  well  adapted  to  dis- 
play the  pictures,  statuary  and  bric-a-brac  which,  in  emulation  of 
Italian  collectors,  the  Northern  nobles  were  beginning  to  acquire; 
and  it  showed  off  to  advantage  the  long  line  of  ancestral  portraits 
and  the  tapestries  representing  a  succession  of  episodes  from  the 
y£neid,  the   Orlando  Innamorato,  or  some  of  the  interminable 


138  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

epics  that  formed  the  light  reading  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Then,  too.  the  gallery  served  for  the  processions  which  were  a 
part  of  the  social  ceremonial  in  great  houses:  the  march  to  the 
chapel  or  banquet-hall,  the  escorting  of  a  royal  guest  to  the  state 
bedroom,  and  other  like  pageants. 

In  France  and  England  the  gallery  seems  for  a  long  time  to  have 
been  used  as  a  saloon  and  ball-room,  whereas  in  Italy  it  was,  as  a 
rule,  reserved  for  the  display  of  the  art-treasures  of  the  house,  no 
Italian  palace  worthy  of  the  name  being  without  its  gallery  of 
antiquities  or  of  marbles. 

In  modern  houses  the  ball-room  and  music-room  are  the  two 
principal  gala  apartments.  A  music-room  need  not  be  a  gala 
room  in  the  sense  of  being  used  only  for  large  entertainments ; 
but  since  it  is  outside  the  circle  of  every-day  use,  and  more  or 
less  associated  with  entertaining,  it  seems  best  to  include  it  in  this 
chapter. 

Many  houses  of  average  size  have  a  room  large  enough  for 
informal  entertainments.  Such  a  room,  especially  in  country 
houses,  should  be  decorated  in  a  gay  simple  manner  in  harmony 
with  the  rest  of  the  house  and  with  the  uses  to  which  the  room  is 
to  be  put.  Rooms  of  this  kind  may  be  treated  with  a  white  dado, 
surmounted  by  walls  painted  in  a  pale  tint,  with  boldly  modelled 
garlands  and  attributes  in  stucco,  also  painted  white  (see  Plate  Xlll). 
If  these  Stucco  decorations  are  used  to  frame  a  series  of  pictures, 
such  as  fruit  and  flower-pieces  or  decorative  subjects,  the  effect 
is  especially  attractive.  Large  painted  panels  with  eighteenth- 
century  genre  subjects  or  pastoral  scenes,  set  in  simple  white 
panelling,  are  also  very  decorative.  A  coved  ceiling  is  best  suited 
to  rooms  of  this  comparatively  simple  character,  while  in  state 
ball-rooms  the  dome  increases  the  general  appearance  of  splendor. 


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Ball- Room,  Saloon,  Music-Room,  Gallery   139 

A  panelling  of  mirrors  forms  a  brilliant  ball-room  decoration,  and 
charming  eflfects  are  produced  by  painting  these  mirrors  with 
birds,  butterflies,  and  garlands  of  flowers,  in  the  manner  of  the 
famous  Italian  mirror-painter,  Mario  dei  Fiori — "Mario  of  the 
Flowers" — as  he  was  called  in  recognition  of  his  special  gift. 
There  is  a  beautiful  room  by  this  artist  in  the  Borghese  Palace  in 
Rome,  and  many  Italian  palaces  contain  examples  of  this  pecu- 
liarly brilliant  style  of  decoration,  which  might  be  revived  to 
advantage  by  modern  painters. 

In  ball-rooms  of  great  size  and  importance,  where  the  walls  de- 
mand a  more  architectural  treatment,  the  use  of  an  order  naturally 
suggests  itself.  Pilasters  of  marble,  separated  by  marble  niches 
containing  statues,  form  a  severe  but  splendid  decoration ;  and  if 
white  and  colored  marbles  are  combined,  and  the  whole  is  sur- 
mounted by  a  domed  ceiling  frescoed  in  bright  colors,  the  effect  is 
extremely  brilliant. 

In  Italy  the  architectural  decoration  of  large  rooms  was  often 
entirely  painted  (see  Plate  XLIV),  the  plaster  walls  being  covered 
with  a  fanciful  piling-up  of  statues,  porticoes  and  balustrades, 
while  figures  in  Oriental  costume,  or  in  the  masks  and  parti- 
colored dress  of  the  ComMie  Italienne,  leaned  from  simulated 
loggias  or  wandered  through  marble  colonnades. 

The  Italian  decorator  held  any  audacity  permissible  in  a  room 
used  only  by  a  throng  of  people,  whose  mood  and  dress  made 
them  ready  to  accept  the  fairy-tales  on  the  walls  as  a  fitting  back- 
ground to  their  own  masquerading.  Modern  travellers,  walking 
through  these  old  Italian  saloons  in  the  harsh  light  of  day,  while 
cobwebs  hang  from  the  audacious  architecture,  and  the  cracks  in 
the  plaster  look  like  wounds  in  the  cheeks  of  simpering  nymphs 
and  shepherdesses,  should  remember  that  such  apartments  were 


140  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

meant  to  be  seen  by  the  soft  light  of  wax  candles  in  crystal  chan 
deliers,  with  fantastically  dressed  dancers  thronging  the  marble 
floor. 

Such  a  ball-room,  if  reproduced  in  the  present  day,  would  be 
far  more  effective  than  the  conventional  white-and-gold  room, 
which,  though  unobjectionable  when  well  decorated,  lacks  the 
imaginative  charm,  the  personal  note,  given  by  the  painter's 
touch. 

Under  Louis  XIV  many  French  apartments  of  state  were  pan- 
elled with  colored  marbles,  with  an  application  of  attributes  or 
trophies,  and  other  ornamental  motives  in  fire-gilt  bronze:  a 
sumptuous  mode  of  treatment  according  well  with  a  domed 
and  frescoed  ceiling.  Tapestry  was  also  much  used,  and  forms 
an  admirable  decoration,  provided  the  color-scheme  is  light  and 
the  design  animated.  Seventeenth  and  eighteenth-century  tap- 
estries are  the  most  suitable,  as  the  scale  of  color  is  brighter  and 
the  compositions  are  gayer  than  in  the  earlier  hangings. 

Modern  dancers  prefer  a  polished  wooden  floor,  and  it  is  per- 
haps smoother  and  more  elastic  than  any  other  surface;  but  in 
beauty  and  decorative  value  it  cannot  be  compared  with  a  floor 
of  inlaid  marble,  and  as  all  the  dancing  in  Italian  palaces  is  still 
done  on  such  floors,  the  preference  for  wood  is  probably  the 
result  of  habit.  In  a  ball-room  of  any  importance,  especially 
where  marble  is  used  on  the  walls,  the  floor  should  always  be  of 
the  same  substance  (see  floors  in  Plates  XXIX,  XXX,  and  LV). 

Gala  apartments,  as  distinguished  from  living-rooms,  should 
be  lit  from  the  ceiling,  never  from  the  walls.  No  ball-room  or 
saloon  is  complete  without  its  chandeliers:  they  are  one  of  the 
characteristic  features  of  a  gala  room  (see  Plates  V,  XIX,  XXXIV, 
XLIII,  XLV,  L).     For  a  ball-room,  where  all  should  be  light  and 


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Bail-Room,   Saloon,  Music-Room,  Gallery   141 

brilliant,  rock-crystal  or  cut-glass  chandeliers  are  most  suitable: 
reflected  in  a  long  line  of  mirrors,  they  are  an  invaluable  factor  in 
any  scheme  of  gala  decoration. 

The  old  French  decorators  relied  upon  the  reflection  of  mirrors 
for  producing  an  effect  of  distance  in  the  treatment  of  gala  rooms. 
Above  the  mantel,  there  was  always  a  mirror  with  another  of  the 
same  shape  and  size  directly  opposite ;  and  the  glittering  perspec- 
tive thus  produced  gave  to  the  scene  an  air  of  fantastic  unreality. 
The  gala  suite  being  so  planned  that  all  the  rooms  adjoined  each 
other,  the  effect  of  distance  was  further  enhanced  by  placing  the 
openings  in  line,  so  that  on  entering  the  suite  it  was  possible  to 
look  down  its  whole  length.  The  importance  of  preserving  this 
long  vista,  or  enfilade,  as  the  French  call  it,  is  dwelt  on  by  all  old 
writers  on  house-decoration.  If  a  ball-room  be  properly  lit  and 
decorated,  it  is  never  necessary  to  dress  it  up  with  any  sort  of 
temporary  ornamentation:  the  true  mark  of  the  well-decorated 
ball-room  is  to  look  always  ready  for  a  ball. 

The  only  chair  seen  in  most  modern  ball-rooms  is  the  folding 
camp-seat  hired  by  the  hundred  when  entertainments  are  given; 
but  there  is  no  reason  why  a  ball-room  should  be  even  tempo- 
rarily disfigured  by  these  makeshifts,  which  look  their  worst  when 
an  effort  is  made  to  conceal  their  cheap  construction  under  a  little 
gilding  and  satin.  In  all  old  ball-rooms,  benches  and  tabourets 
(small  seats  without  backs)  were  ranged  in  a  continuous  line 
along  the  walls.  These  seats,  handsomely  designed,  and  covered 
with  tapestry,  velvet,  or  embroidered  silk  slips,  were  a  part  of  the 
permanent  decoration  of  the  room.  On  ordinary  occasions  they 
would  be  sufficient  for  a  modern  ball-room ;  and  when  larger  en- 
tertainments made  it  needful  to  provide  additional  seats,  these 
might  be  copied  from  the  seventeenth-century  perroquets,  exam- 


142  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

pies  of  which  may  be  found  in  the  various  French  works  on  the 
history  of  furniture.  These  perroquets,  or  folding  chairs  without 
arms,  made  of  natural  walnut  or  gilded,  with  seats  of  tapestry, 
velvet  or  decorated  leather,  would  form  an  excellent  substitute 
for  the  modern  cotillon  seat. 

The  first  rule  to  be  observed  in  the  decoration  of  the  music- 
room  is  the  avoidance  of  all  stuff  hangings,  draperies,  and  sub- 
stances likely  to  deaden  sound.  The  treatment  chosen  for  the 
room  must  of  course  depend  on  its  size  and  its  relation  to  the 
other  rooms  in  the  house.  While  a  music-room  should  be  more 
subdued  in  color  than  a  ball-room,  sombre  tints  and  heavy  orna- 
ment are  obviously  inappropriate:  the  effect  aimed  at  should  be 
one  of  lightness  and  serenity  in  form  and  color.  However  small 
and  simple  the  music-room  may  be,  it  should  always  appear  as 
though  there  were  space  overhead  for  the  notes  to  escape;  and 
some  form  of  vaulting  or  doming  is  therefore  more  suitable  than 
a  flat  ceiling. 

While  plain  panelling,  if  well  designed,  is  never  out  of  keeping, 
the  walls  of  a  music-room  are  specially  suited  to  a  somewhat  fan- 
ciful style  of  decoration.  In  a  ball-room,  splendor  and  brilliancy 
of  effect  are  more  needful  than  a  studied  delicacy;  but  where 
people  are  seated,  and  everything  in  the  room  is  consequently  sub- 
jected to  close  and  prolonged  scrutiny,  sprightliness  of  composi- 
tion should  be  combined  with  variety  of  detail,  the  decoration 
being  neither  so  confused  and  intricate  as  to  distract  attention,  nor 
so  conventional  as  to  be  dismissed  with  a  glance  on  entering  the 
room. 

The  early  Renaissance  compositions  in  which  stucco  low- 
reliefs  blossom  into  painted  arabesques  and  tendrils,  are  peculiarly 
adapted  to  a  small  music-room;  while  those  who  prefer  a  more 


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Bail-Room,  Saloon,  Music- Room,  Gallery   143 

architectural  treatment  may  find  admirable  examples  in  some  of 
the  Italian  eighteenth-century  rooms  decorated  with  free-hand 
stucco  ornament,  or  in  the  sculptured  wood-panelling  of  the  same 
period  in  France.  At  Remiremont  in  the  Vosges,  formerly  the 
residence  of  a  noble  order  of  canonesses,  the  abbess's  hotel  con- 
tains an  octagonal  music-room  of  exceptional  beauty,  the  panelled 
walls  being  carved  with  skilfully  combined  musical  instruments 
and  flower-garlands. 

In  larger  apartments  a  fanciful  style  of  fresco-painting  might  be 
employed,  as  in  the  rooms  painted  by  Tiepolo  in  the  Villa  Val- 
marana,  near  Vicenza,  or  in  the  staircase  of  the  Palazzo  Sina,  at 
Venice,  decorated  by  Longhi  with  the  episodes  of  an  eighteenth- 
century  carnival.  Whatever  the  design  chosen,  it  should  never 
resemble  the  formal  treatment  suited  to  ball-room  and  saloon :  the 
decoration  should  sound  a  note  distinctly  suggestive  of  the  pur- 
pose for  which  the  music-room  is  used. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  modern  music-rooms  have  so 
long  been  disfigured  by  the  clumsy  lines  of  grand  and  upright  pianos, 
since  the  cases  of  both  might  be  modified  without  aflFecting  the 
construction  of  the  instrument.  Of  the  two,  the  grand  piano 
would  be  the  easier  to  remodel :  if  its  elephantine  supports  were 
replaced  by  slender  fluted  legs,  and  its  case  and  sounding-board 
were  painted,  or  inlaid  with  marquetry,  it  would  resemble  the 
charming  old  clavecin  which  preceded  the  pianoforte. 

Fewer  changes  are  possible  in  the  "upright";  but  a  marked 
improvement  could  be  produced  by  straightening  its  legs  and 
substituting  right  angles  for  the  weak  curves  of  the  lid.  The 
case  itself  might  be  made  of  plainly  panelled  mahogany,  with  a 
few  good  ormolu  ornaments;  or  of  inlaid  wood,  with  a  design  of 
musical  instruments  and  similar  "attributes";    or  it  might  be 


144  '^^^  Decoration  of  Houses 

decorated  with  flower-garlands  and  arabesques  painted  either  on 
the  natural  wood  or  on  a  gilt  or  colored  background. 

Designers  should  also  study  the  lines  of  those  two  long- 
neglected  pieces  of  furniture,  the  music-stool  and  music-stand. 
The  latter  should  be  designed  to  match  the  piano,  and  painted 
or  inlaid  like  its  case.  The  revolving  mushroom  that  now 
serves  as  a  music-stool  is  a  modern  invention :  the  old  stools  were 
substantial  circular  seats  resting  on  four  fluted  legs.  The  manuals 
of  the  eighteenth-century  cabinet-niakers  contain  countless  models 
of  these  piano-seats,  which  might  well  be  reproduced  by  modern 
designers :  there  seems  no  practical  reason  why  thp  accessories  of 

the  piano  should  be  less  decorative  than  those  of  the  harpsichord. 

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XII 

THE  LIBRARY,  SMOKING-ROOM,  AND   ''DEN" 

IN  the  days  when  furniture  was  defined  as  "that  which  may  be 
carried  about, "  the  natural  bookcase  was  a  chest  with  a  strong 
locic.  These  chests,  paci<ed  with  precious  manuscripts,  followed 
the  prince  or  noble  from  one  castle  to  another,  and  were  even  car- 
ried after  him  into  camp.  Before  the  invention  of  printing,  when 
twenty  or  thirty  books  formed  an  exceptionally  large  library,  and 
many  great  personages  were  content  with  the  possession  of  one 
volume,  such  ambulant  bookcases  were  sufficient  for  the  require- 
ments of  the  most  eager  bibliophile.  Occasionally  the  volumes 
were  kept  in  a  small  press  or  cupboard,  and  placed  in  a  chest  only 
when  their  owner  travelled;  but  the  bookcase,  as  now  known, 
did  not  take  shape  until  much  later,  for  when  books  multiplied 
with  the  introduction  of  printing,  it  became  customary  to  fit  up 
for  their  reception  little  rooms  called  cabinets.  In  the  famous  cab- 
inet of  Catherine  de'  Medici  at  Blois  the  walls  are  lined  with  book- 
shelves concealed  behind  sliding  panels  —  a  contrivance  rendered 
doubly  necessary  by  the  general  insecurity  of  property,  and  by  the 
fact  that  the  books  of  that  period,  whether  in  manuscript  or 
printed,  were  made  sumptuous  as  church  jewelry  by  the  art  of 
painter  and  goldsmith. 
Long  after  the  establishment  of  the  printing-press,  books,  ex- 

145 


146  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

cept  in  the  hands  of  the  scholar,  continued  to  be  a  kind  of  curios- 
ity, like  other  objects  of  art :  less  an  intellectual  need  than  a  treasure 
upon  which  rich  men  prided  themselves.  It  was  not  until  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  that  the  taste  for  books  became 
a  taste  for  reading.  France  led  the  way  in  this  new  fashion,  which 
was  assiduously  cultivated  in  those  Parisian  salons  of  which  Ma- 
dame de  Rambouillet's  is  the  recognized  type.  The  possession  of 
a  library,  hitherto  the  privilege  of  kings,  of  wealthy  monasteries, 
or  of  some  distinguished  patron  of  letters  like  Grolier,  Maioli,  or 
de  Thou,  now  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  necessity  of  every  gentle- 
man's establishment.  Beautiful  bindings  were  still  highly  valued, 
and  some  of  the  most  wonderful  work  produced  in  France  belongs 
to  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries ;  but  as  people  began 
to  buy  books  for  the  sake  of  what  they  contained,  less  exaggerated 
importance  was  attached  to  their  exterior,  so  that  bindings, 
though  perfect  as  taste  and  skill  could  make  them,  were  seldom 
as  extravagantly  enriched  as  in  the  two  preceding  centuries.  Up 
to  a  certain  point  this  change  was  not  to  be  regretted:  the  me- 
diaeval book,  with  its  gold  or  ivory  bas-reliefs  bordered  with  pre- 
cious stones,  and  its  massive  jewelled  clasps,  was  more  like  a  mon- 
strance or  reliquary  than  anything  meant  for  less  ceremonious  use. 
It  remained  for  the  Italian  printers  and  binders  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  for  their  French  imitators,  to  adapt  the  form  of  the 
book  to  its  purpose,  changing,  as  it  were,  a  jewelled  idol  to  a 
human  companion. 

The  substitution  of  the  octavo  for  the  folio,  and  certain  modi- 
fications in  binding  which  made  it  possible  to  stand  books  upright 
instead  of  laying  one  above  the  other  with  edges  outward,  gradu- 
ally gave  to  the  library  a  more  modern  aspect.  In  France,  by  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  library  had  come  to  be  a 


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The  Library,  Smoking- Room,  and  "Den"   147 

recognized  feature  in  private  houses.  The  Renaissance  cabinet 
continued  to  be  the  common  receptacle  for  booics;  but  as  the 
shelves  were  no  longer  concealed,  bindings  now  contributed  to  the 
decoration  of  the  room.  Movable  bookcases  were  not  unknown, 
but  these  seem  to  have  been  merely  presses  in  which  wooden 
door-panels  were  replaced  by  glass  or  by  a  lattice-work  of  brass 
wire.  The  typical  French  bookcase  d  deux  corps  —  that  is,  made 
in  two  separate  parts,  the  lower  a  cupboard  to  contain  prints  and 
folios,  the  upper  with  shelves  and  glazed  or  latticed  doors  —  was 
introduced  later,  and  is  still  the  best  model  for  a  movable  book- 
case. In  rooms  of  any  importance,  however,  the  French  archi- 
tect always  preferred  to  build  his  book-shelves  into  niches  formed 
in  the  thickness  of  the  wall,  thus  utilizing  the  books  as  part  of  his 
scheme  of  decoration. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  this  is  not  only  the  most  practical,  but 
the  most  decorative,  way  of  housing  any  collection  of  books  large 
enough  to  be  so  employed.  To  adorn  the  walls  of  a  library,  and 
then  conceal  their  ornamentation  by  expensive  bookcases,  is  a 
waste,  or  rather  a  misapplication,  of  effects  —  always  a  sin  against 
aesthetic  principles. 

The  importance  of  bookbindings  as  an  element  in  house-deco- 
ration has  already  been  touched  upon ;  but  since  a  taste  for  good 
bindings  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  a  collector's  fad,  like  accu- 
mulating snuff-boxes  or  baisers-de-paix,  it  seems  needful  to  point 
out  how  obvious  and  valuable  a  means  of  decoration  is  lost  by 
disregarding  the  outward  appearance  of  books.  To  be  decora- 
tive, a  bookcase  need  not  contain  the  productions  of  the  master- 
binders, —  old  volumes  by  Eve  and  Derome,  or  the  work  of  Roger 
Payne  and  Sanderson, —  unsurpassed  as  they  are  in  color- value. 
Ordinary  bindings  of  half  morocco  or  vellum  form  an  expanse  of 


148  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

warm  lustrous  color;  such  bindings  are  comparatively  inexpen- 
sive; yet  people  will  often  hesitate  to  pay  for  a  good  edition 
bound  in  plain  levant  half  the  amount  they  are  ready  to  throw 
away  upon  a  piece  of  modern  Saxe  or  a  silver  photograph-frame. 

The  question  of  binding  leads  incidentally  to  that  of  editions, 
though  the  latter  is  hardly  within  the  scope  of  this  book.  People 
who  have  begun  to  notice  the  outside  of  their  books  naturally 
come  to  appreciate  paper  and  type;  and  thus  learn  that  the 
modern  book  is  too  often  merely  the  cheapest  possible  vehicle  for 
putting  words  into  print.  The  last  few  years  have  brought  about 
some  improvement;  and  it  is  now  not  unusual  for  a  publisher,  in 
bringing  out  a  book  at  the  ordinary  rates,  to  produce  also  a  small 
edition  in  large-paper  copies.  These  large-paper  books,  though 
as  yet  far  from  perfect  in  type  and  make-up,  are  superior  to  the 
average  "commercial  article";  and,  apart  from  their  artistic  merit, 
are  in  themselves  a  good  investment,  since  the  value  of  such  edi- 
tions increases  steadily  year  by  year.  Those  who  cannot  afford 
both  edition  and  binding  will  do  better  to  buy  large-paper  books 
or  current  first  editions  in  boards,  than  "handsomely  bound" 
volumes  unworthy  in  type  and  paper.  The  plain  paper  or  buck- 
ram covers  of  a  good  publisher  are,  in  fact,  more  decorative,  because 
more  artistic,  than  showy  tree-calf  or  "antique  morocco." 

The  same  principle  applies  to  the  library  itself:  plain  shelves 
filled  with  good  editions  in  good  bindings  are  more  truly  decora- 
tive than  ornate  bookcases  lined  with  tawdry  books. 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  the  plan  of  building  book- 
shelves into  the  walls  is  the  most  decorative  and  the  most  practical 
(see  Plate  XLVlll).  The  best  examples  of  this  treatment  are  found 
in  France.  The  walls  of  the  rooms  thus  decorated  were  usually 
of  panelled  wood,  either  in  natural  oak  or  walnut,  as  in  the  beau- 


The  Library,  Snioking-Room,  and  "Den"   149 

tiful  library  of  the  old  university  at  Nancy,  or  else  painted  in  two 
contrasting  colors,  such  as  gray  and  white.  When  not  set  in 
recesses,  the  shelves  formed  a  sort  of  continuous  lining  around 
the  walls,  as  in  the  library  of  Louis  XVI  in  the  palace  at  Versailles 
(see  Plate  XLVII),  or  in  that  of  the  Due  de  Choiseul  at  Chanteloup, 
now  set  up  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  the  public  library  at  Tours. 

In  either  case,  instead  of  being  detached  pieces  of  furniture,  the 
bookcases  formed  an  organic  part  of  the  wall-decoration.  Any 
study  of  old  French  works  on  house-decoration  and  furniture  will 
show  how  seldom  the  detached  bookcase  was  used  in  French 
libraries :  but  few  models  are  to  be  found,  and  these  were  proba- 
bly designed  for  use  in  the  boudoir  or  study,  rather  than  in  the 
library  proper  (see  bookcase  in  Plate  V). 

In  England,  where  private  libraries  were  fewer  and  less  ex- 
tensive, the  movable  bookcase  was  much  used,  and  examples 
of  built-in  shelves  are  proportionately  rarer.  The  hand-books 
of  the  old  English  cabinet-makers  contain  innumerable  models  of 
handsome  bookcases,  with  glazed  doors  set  with  diamond-shaped 
panes  in  wooden  mouldings,  and  the  familiar  broken  pediment 
surmounted  by  a  bust  or  an  urn.  It  was  natural  that  where 
books  were  few,  small  bookcases  should  be  preferred  to  a  room 
lined  with  shelves;  and  in  the  seventeenth  century,  according  to 
John  Evelyn,  the  "three  nations  of  Great  Britain"  contained  fewer 
books  than  Paris. 

Almost  all  the  old  bookcases  had  one  feature  in  common :  that 
is,  the  lower  cupboard  with  solid  doors.  The  bookcase  proper 
rested  upon  this  projecting  cupboard,  thus  raising  the  books 
above  the  level  of  the  furniture.  The  prevalent  fashion  of  low 
book-shelves,  starting  from  the  floor,  and  not  extending  much 
higher  than  the  dado-moulding,  has  probably  been  brought  about 


150  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

by  the  other  recent  fashion  of  low-studded  rooms.  Architects  are 
beginning  to  rediscover  the  forgotten  fact  that  the  stud  of  a  room 
should  be  regulated  by  the  dimensions  of  its  floor-space;  so  that 
in  the  newer  houses  the  dwarf  bookcase  is  no  longer  a  necessity. 
It  is  certainly  less  convenient  than  the  tall  old-fashioned  press; 
for  not  only  must  one  kneel  to  reach  the  lower  shelves,  but  the 
books  are  hidden,  and  access  to  them  is  obstructed,  by  their  being 
on  a  level  with  the  furniture. 

The  general  decoration  of  the  library  should  be  of  such  charac- 
ter as  to  form  a  background  or  setting  to  the  books,  rather  than  to 
distract  attention  from  them.  The  richly  adorned  room  in  which 
books  are  but  a  minor  incident  is,  in  fact,  no  library  at  all.  There 
is  no  reason  why  the  decorations  of  a  library  should  not  be  splen- 
did; but  in  that  case  the  books  must  be  splendid  too,  and  suffi- 
cient in  number  to  dominate  all  the  accessory  decorations  of  the 
room. 

When  there  are  books  enough,  it  is  best  to  use  them  as  part  of 
the  decorative  treatment  of  the  walls,  panelling  any  intervening 
spaces  in  a  severe  and  dignified  style;  otherwise  movable  book- 
cases may  be  placed  against  the  more  important  wall-spaces,  the 
walls  being  decorated  with  wooden  panelling  or  with  mouldings 
and  stucco  ornaments;  but  in  this  case  composition  and  color- 
scheme  must  be  so  subdued  as  to  throw  the  bookcases  and  their 
contents  into  marked  relief.  It  does  not  follow  that  because  books 
are  the  chief  feature  of  the  library,  other  ornaments  should  be  ex- 
cluded; but  they  should  be  used  with  discrimination,  and  so 
chosen  as  to  harmonize  with  the  spirit  of  the  room.  Nowhere  is 
the  modem  litter  of  knick-knacks  and  photographs  more  inappro- 
priate than  in  the  library.  The  tables  should  be  large,  substantial, 
and  clear  of  everything  but  lamps,  books  and  papers  —  one  table 


PLATE  XLIX. 


WRITING-CHAIR,  LOUIS  XV  PERIOD. 


The  Library,   Smoking-Room,  and  "Den"   151 

at  least  being  given  over  to  the  filing  of  books  and  newspapers. 
The  library  writing-table  is  seldom  large  enough,  or  sufficiently 
free  from  odds  and  ends  in  the  shape  of  photograph-frames,  silver 
boxes,  and  flower-vases,  to  give  free  play  to  the  elbows.  A  large 
solid  table  of  the  kind  called  bureau-ministre  (see  the  table  in 
Plate  XLVll)  is  well  adapted  to  the  library;  and  in  front  of  it 
should  stand  a  comfortable  writing-chair  such  as  that  represented 
in  Plate  XLIX. 

The  housing  of  a  great  private  library  is  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting problems  of  interior  architecture.  Such  a  room,  combining 
monumen'al  dimensions  with  the  rich  color-values  and  impressive 
effect  produced  by  tiers  of  fine  bindings,  affords  unequalled  oppor- 
tunity for  the  exercise  of  the  architect's  skill.  The  two-storied 
room  with  gallery  and  stairs  and  domed  or  vaulted  ceiling  is 
the  finest  setting  for  a  great  collection.  Space  may  of  course  be 
gained  by  means  of  a  series  of  bookcases  projecting  into  the 
room  and  forming  deep  bays  along  each  of  the  walls;  but  this 
arrangement  is  seldom  necessary  save  in  a  public  library,  and 
however  skilfully  handled  must  necessarily  diminish  the  architec- 
tural effect  of  the  room.  In  America  the  great  private  library  is 
still  so  much  a  thing  of  the  future  that  its  treatment  need  not  be 
discussed  in  detail.  Few  of  the  large  houses  lately  built  in  the 
United  States  contain  a  library  in  the  serious  meaning  of  the 
term ;  but  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  next  generation  of  architects 
will  have  wider  opportunities  in  this  direction. 

The  smoking-room  proper,  with  its  mise  en  sUne  of  Turkish 
divans,  narghilehs,  brass  coffee-trays,  and  other  Oriental  proper- 
ties, is  no  longer  considered  a  necessity  in  the  modern  house;  and 
the  room  which  would  formerly  have  been  used  for  this  speciiil 
purpose  now  comes  rather  under  the  head  of  the  master's  loung- 


152  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

ing-room,  or  "  den  " —  since  the  latter  word  seems  to  have  attained 
the  dignity  of  a  technical  term. 

Whatever  extravagances  the  upholsterer  may  have  committed 
in  other  parts  of  the  house,  it  is  usually  conceded  that  common 
sense  should  regulate  the  furnishing  of  the  den.  Fragile  chairs, 
lace-petticoat  lamp-shades  and  irrelevant  bric-a-brac  are  conse- 
quently excluded ;  and  the  master's  sense  of  comfort  often  ex- 
presses itself  in  a  set  of  "office"  furniture  —  a  roller-top  desk,  a 
revolving  chair,  and  others  of  the  pufly  type  already  described  as 
the  accepted  model  of  a  luxurious  seat.  Thus  freed  from  the  su- 
perfluous, the  den  is  likely  to  be  the  most  comfortable  room  in 
the  house;  and  the  natural  inference  is  that  a  room,  in  order  to  be 
comfortable,  must  be  ugly.  One  can  picture  the  derision  of  the 
man  who  is  told  that  he  might,  without  the  smallest  sacrifice  of 
comfort  or  convenience,  transact  his  business  at  a  Louis  XVI  writ- 
ing-table, seated  in  a  Louis  XVI  chair!  —  yet  the  handsomest  desks 
of  the  last  century  —  the  fine  old  bureaux  d  la  Kauniti  or  d  cylin- 
dre  —  were  the  prototypes  of  the  modern  "roller-top";  and  the 
cane  or  leather-seated  writing-chair,  with  rounded  back  and  five 
slim  strong  legs,  was  far  more  comfortable  than  the  amorphous 
revolving  seat.  Convenience  was  not  sacrificed  to  beauty  in  either 
desk  or  chair;  but  both  the  old  pieces,  being  designed  by  skilled 
cabinet-makers,  were  as  decorative  as  they  were  useful.  There 
seems,  in  fact,  no  reason  why  the  modern  den  should  not  resem- 
ble the  financiers'  bureaux  seen  in  so  many  old  prints :  rooms  of 
dignified  plainness,  but  where  each  line  of  wall-panelling  and  fur- 
niture was  as  carefully  studied  and  intelligently  adapted  to  its  ends 
as  though  intended  for  a  drawing-room  or  boudoir. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  way  in  which,  even  in  small 
houses,  a  room  may  be  sacrificed  to  a  supposed  "effect,"  or  to 


The  Library,  Smoking- Room,  and  "Den"   153 

some  inherited  tradition  as  to  its  former  use.  Thus  the  family 
drawing-room  is  too  often  made  uninhabitable  from  some  vague 
feeling  that  a  "  drawing-room  "  is  not  worthy  of  its  name  unless 
too  fine  to  sit  in;  while  the  small  front  room  on  the  ground  floor 
—  in  the  average  American  house  the  only  corner  given  over  to 
the  master  —  is  thrown  into  the  hall,  either  that  the  house  may 
appear  larger  and  handsomer,  or  from  sheer  inability  to  make  so 
small  a  room  habitable. 

There  is  no  reason  why  even  a  ten-by-twelve  or  an  eight-by- 
fourteen  foot  room  should  not  be  made  comfortable ;  and  the  fol- 
lowing suggestions  are  intended  to  indicate  the  lines  on  which 
an  appropriate  scheme  of  decoration  might  be  carried  out. 

In  most  town  houses  the  small  room  down-stairs  is  built  with 
an  opening  in  the  longitudinal  wall,  close  to  the  front  door,  while 
there  is  usually  another  entrance  at  the  back  of  the  room,  facing 
the  window ;  one  at  least  of  these  openings  being,  as  a  rule,  of  ex- 
aggerated width.  In  such  cases  the  door  in  the  side  of  the  room 
should  be  walled  up :  this  gives  privacy  and  provides  enough  ad- 
ditional wall-space  for  a  good-sized  piece  of  furniture. 

The  best  way  of  obtaining  an  effect  of  size  is  to  panel  the  walls 
by  means  of  clear-cut  architectural  mouldings  :  a  few  strong  ver- 
tical lines  will  give  dignity  to  the  room  and  height  to  the  ceiling. 
The  walls  should  be  free  from  pattern  and  light  in  color,  since 
dark  walls  necessitate  much  artificial  light,  and  have  the  disad- 
vantage of  making  a  room  look  small. 

The  ceiling,  if  not  plain,  must  be  ornamented  with  the  lightest 
tracery,  and  supported  by  a  cornice  correspondingly  simple  in 
design.  Heavy  ceiling-mouldings  are  obviously  out  of  place  in  a 
small  room,  and  a  plain  expanse  of  plaster  is  always  preferable  to 
misapplied  ornament. 


154  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

A  single  curtain  made  of  some  flexible  material,  such  as  cor- 
duroy or  thin  unlined  damaslc,  and  so  hung  that  it  may  be  readily 
drawn  back  during  the  day,  is  sufficient  for  the  window;  while 
in  a  corner  near  this  window  may  be  placed  an  easy-chair  and 
a  small  solidly  made  table,  large  enough  to  hold  a  lamp  and  a 
book  or  two. 

These  rooms,  in  some  recently  built  town  houses,  contain  chim- 
neys set  in  an  angle  of  the  wall :  a  misplaced  attempt  at  quaint- 
ness,  making  it  inconvenient  to  sit  near  the  hearth,  and  seriously 
interfering  with  the  general  arrangement  of  the  room.  When 
the  chimney  occupies  the  centre  of  the  longitudinal  wall  there 
is  space,  even  in  a  very  narrow  room,  for  a  group  of  chairs 
about  the  fireplace  —  provided,  as  we  are  now  supposing, 
the  opening  in  the  parallel  wall  has  been  closed.  A  book- 
case or  some  other  high  piece  of  furniture  may  be  placed  on 
each  side  of  the  mantel,  and  there  will  be  space  opposite  for  a 
sofa  and  a  good-sized  writing-table.  If  the  pieces  of  furniture 
chosen  are  in  scale  with  the  dimensions  of  the  room,  and  are 
placed  against  the  wall,  instead  of  being  set  sideways,  with 
the  usual  easel  or  palm-tree  behind  them,  it  is  surprising  to 
see  how  much  a  small  room  may  contain  without  appearing 
to  be  overcrowded. 


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XIII 
THE  DINING-ROOM 

THE  dining-room,  as  we  know  it,  is  a  comparatively  recent 
innovation  in  house-planning.  In  the  early  middle  ages  the 
noble  and  his  retainers  ate  in  the  hall;  then  iht  grand' saUe,  built 
for  ceremonial  uses,  began  to  serve  as  a  banqueting-room,  while 
the  meals  eaten  in  private  were  served  in  the  lord's  chamber.  As 
house-planning  adapted  itself  to  the  growing  complexity  of  life, 
the  mediaeval  bedroom  developed  into  a  private  suite  of  living- 
rooms,  preceded  by  an  antechamber;  and  this  antechamber,  or  one 
of  the  small  adjoining  cabinets,  was  used  as  the  family  dining-room, 
the  banqueting-hall  being  still  reserved  for  state  entertainments. 

The  plan  of  dining  at  haphazard  in  any  of  the  family  living-rooms 
persisted  on  the  Continent  until  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century:  even  then  it  was  comparatively  rare,  in  France,  to  see  a 
room  set  apart  for  the  purpose  of  dining.  In  small  hotels  and 
apartments,  people  continued  to  dine  in  the  antechamber;  where 
there  were  two  antechambers,  the  inner  was  used  for  that  purpose; 
and  it  was  only  in  grand  houses,  or  in  the  luxurious  establish- 
ments oiXhtfemmes  galantes,  that  dining-rooms  were  to  be  found. 
Even  in  such  cases  the  room  described  as  a  saUe  a  manger  was 
often  only  a  central  antechamber  or  saloon  into  which  the  living- 
rooms  opened;   indeed,  Madame  du  Barry's  sumptuous  dining- 


156  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

room   at  Luciennes  was  a  vestibule  giving   directly  upon  the 
peristyle  of  the  villa. 

In  England  the  act  of  dining  seems  to  have  been  taken  more 
seriously,  while  the  rambling  outgrowths  of  the  Elizabethan 
residence  included  a  greater  variety  of  rooms  than  could  be  con- 
tained in  any  but  the  largest  houses  built  on  more  symmetrical 
lines.  Accordingly,  in  old  English  house-plans  we  find  rooms 
designated  as  "  dining-parlors  " ;  many  houses,  in  fact,  contained 
two  or  three,  each  with  a  different  exposure,  so  that  they  might 
be  used  at  different  seasons.  These  rooms  can  hardly  be  said  to 
represent  our  modern  dining-room,  since  they  were  not  planned 
in  connection  with  kitchen  and  offices,  and  were  probably 
used  as  living-rooms  when  not  needed  for  dining.  Still,  it  was 
from  the  Elizabethan  dining-parlor  that  the  modern  dining-room 
really  developed;  and  so  recently  has  it  been  specialized  into  a 
room  used  only  for  eating,  that  a  generation  ago  old-fashioned 
people  in  England  and  America  habitually  used  their  dining-rooms 
to  sit  in.  On  the  Continent  the  incongruous  uses  of  the  rooms 
in  which  people  dined  made  it  necessary  that  the  furniture  should 
be  easily  removed.  In  the  middle  ages,  people  dined  at  long 
tables  composed  of  boards  resting  on  trestles,  while  the  seats 
were  narrow  wooden  benches  or  stools,  so  constructed  that  they 
could  easily  be  carried  away  when  the  meal  was  over.  With  the 
sixteenth  century,  the  table-d-trdteaux  gave  way  to  various  fold- 
ing tables  with  legs,  and  the  wooden  stools  were  later  replaced 
by  folding  seats  without  arms,  called  perroquets.  In  the  middle 
ages,  when  banquets  were  given  in  the  grand' salle,  the  plate  was 
displayed  on  movable  shelves  covered  with  a  velvet  slip,  or  on 
elaborately  carved  dressers ;  but  on  ordinary  occasions  little  silver 
was  set  out  in  French  dining-rooms,  and  the  great  English  side- 


PL/iTE  LL 


**.: 
w- 


-^Al^^^  j^^ll^ia^ 


DINING-ROOM  FOUNTAIN,  PALACE  OF  FONTAINEBLEAU. 

LOUIS   XV   PERIOD. 


The  Dining-Room  157 

board,  with  its  array  of  urns,  trays  and  wine-coolers,  was  un- 
known in  France.  In  the  common  antechamber  dining-room, 
whatever  was  needed  for  the  table  was  kept  in  a  press  or  cup- 
board with  solid  wooden  doors;  changes  of  service  being  carried 
on  by  means  of  serving-tables,  or  servantes  —  narrow  marble- 
topped  consoles  ranged  against  the  walls  of  the  room. 

For  examples  of  dining-rooms,  as  we  understand  the  term,  one 
must  look  to  the  grand  French  houses  of  the  eighteenth  century 
(see  Plate  L)  and  to  the  same  class  of  dwellings  in  England.  In 
France  such  dining-rooms  were  usually  intended  for  gala  enter- 
tainments, the  family  being  still  served  in  antechamber  or  cabinet; 
but  English  houses  of  the  same  period  generally  contain  a  family 
dining-room  and  another  intended  for  state. 

The  dining-room  of  Madame  du  Barry  at  Luciennes,  already 
referred  to,  was  a  magnificent  example  of  the  great  dining-saloon. 
The  ceiling  was  a  painted  Olympus;  the  white  marble  walls  were 
subdivided  by  Corinthian  pilasters  with  plinths  and  capitals  of 
gilt  bronze,  surmounted  by  a  frieze  of  bas-reliefs  framed  in  gold ; 
four  marble  niches  contained  statues  by  Pajou,  Lecomte,  and 
Moineau;  and  the  general  brilliancy  of  effect  was  increased  by 
crystal  chandeliers,  hung  in  the  intercolumniations  against  a  back- 
ground of  looking-glass. 

Such  a  room,  the  banqueting-hall  of  the  official  mistress,  repre- 
sents the  courtisane's  ideal  of  magnificence:  decorations  as  splen- 
did, but  more  sober  and  less  theatrical,  marked  the  dining-rooms 
of  the  aristocracy,  as  at  Choisy,  Gaillon  and  Rambouillet. 

The  state  dining-rooms  of  the  eighteenth  century  were  often 
treated  with  an  order,  niches  with  statues  being  placed  between 
the  pilasters.  Sometimes  one  of  these  niches  contained  a  foun- 
tain serving  as  a  wine-cooler  —  a  survival  of  the  stone  or  metal 


158  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

wall-fountains  in  which  dishes  were  washed  in  the  mediaeval 
dining-room.  Many  of  these  earlier  fountains  had  been  merely 
fixed  to  the  wall;  but  those  of  the  eighteenth  century,  though 
varying  greatly  in  design,  were  almost  always  an  organic  part  of 
the  wall-decoration  (see  Plate  LI).  Sometimes,  in  apartments 
of  importance,  they  formed  the  pedestal  of  a  life-size  group  or 
statue,  as  in  the  dining-room  of  Madame  de  Pompadour;  while 
in  smaller  rooms  they  consisted  of  a  semicircular  basin  of  marble 
projecting  from  the  wall  and  surmounted  by  groups  of  cupids, 
dolphins  or  classic  attributes.  The  banqueting-gallery  of  Tria- 
non-sous-Bois  contains  in  one  of  its  longitudinal  walls  two  wide 
niches  with  long  marble  basins;  and  Mariette's  edition  of  d'Avi- 
ier's  Cours  d' Arcbite^ure  gives  the  elevation  of  a  recessed  buffet 
flanked  by  small  niches  containing  fountains.  The  following  de- 
scription, accompanying  d'Aviler's  plate,  is  quoted  here  as  an 
instance  of  the  manner  in  which  elaborate  compositions  were 
worked  out  by  the  old  decorators;  "The  second  antechamber, 
being  sometimes  used  as  a  dining-room,  is  a  suitable  place  for  the 
buflFet  represented.  This  buffet,  which  may  be  incrusted  with 
marble  or  stone,  or  panelled  with  wood-work,  consists  in  a  re- 
cess occupying  one  of  the  side  walls  of  the  room.  The  recess 
contains  a  shelf  of  marble  or  stone,  supported  on  brackets  and 
surmounting  a  small  stone  basin  which  serves  as  a  wine-cooler. 
Above  the  shelf  is  an  attic  flanked  by  volutes,  and  over  this  attic 
may  be  placed  a  picture,  generally  a  flower  or  fruit-piece,  or  the 
representation  of  a  concert,  or  some  such  agreeable  scene;  while 
in  the  accompanying  plate  the  attic  is  crowned  by  a  bust  of 
Comus,  wreathed  with  vines  by  two  little  satyrs — the  group 
detaching  itself  against  a  trellised  background  enlivened  with 
birds.     The  composition  is  completed   by  two   lateral   niches 


PLATE  LIL 


a 

^ftla 

1 

HH 

: 

1 

llllll  ^B 

j 

mmmmmmm 

1 

1              1 

<^^^H 

'  ^^^: 

d|||HEy||^S^?TH^B>~^^j^^^^^j^^^<^|fl^^^|||[Hi^^^^^^H5S^MB^^H^H^B^^Hg^B^H 

DINING-CHAIR,  LOUIS  XIV  PERIOD. 


PLATE  LIU. 


DINING-CHAIR.  LOUIS  XVI  PERIOD. 


The  Dining-Roon.  1^9 

ibr  fountains,  adorned  with  masks,  tritons  and  dolphins  of 
gilded   lead." 

These  built-in  sideboards  and  fountains  were  practically  the 
only  feature  distinguishing  the  old  dining-rooms  from  other  gala 
apartments.  At  a  period  when  all  rooms  were  painted,  panelled, 
or  hung  with  tapestry,  no  special  style  of  decoration  was  thought 
needful  for  the  dining-room ;  though  tapestry  was  seldom  used, 
for  the  practical  reason  that  stuflF  hangings  are  always  objection- 
able in  a  room  intended  for  eating. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  comfortable 
seats  began  to  be  made,  an  admirably  designed  dining-room  chair 
replaced  the  earlier  benches  and  perroquets.  The  eighteenth  cen- 
tury dining-chair  is  now  often  confounded  with  the  light  chaise 
volante  used  in  drawing-rooms,  and  cabinet-makers  frequently 
sell  the  latter  as  copies  of  old  dining-chairs.  These  were  in  fact 
much  heavier  and  more  comfortable,  and  whether  cane-seated  or 
upholstered,  were  invariably  made  with  wide  deep  seats,  so  that 
the  long  banquets  of  the  day  might  be  endured  without  constraint 
or  fatigue ;  while  the  backs  were  low  and  narrow,  in  order  not  to 
interfere  with  the  service  of  the  table.  (See  Plates  Lll  and  Llll. 
Plates  XLVI  and  L  also  contain  good  examples  of  dining-chairs.) 
In  England  the  state  dining-room  was  decorated  much  as  it  was 
in  France:  the  family  dining-room  was  simply  a  plain  parlor,  with 
wide  mahogany  sideboards  or  tall  glazed  cupboards  for  the  display 
of  plate  and  china.  The  solid  English  dining-chairs  of  mahogany, 
if  less  graceful  than  those  used  on  the  Continent,  are  equally  well 
adapted  to  their  purpose. 

The  foregoing  indications  may  serve  to  suggest  the  lines  upon 
which  dining-room  decoration  might  be  carried  out  in  the  present 
day.     The  avoidance  of  all  stuff  hangings  and  heavy  curtains  is 


l6o  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

of  great  importance:  it  will  be  observed  that  even  window- 
curtains  were  seldom  used  in  old  dining-rooms,  such  care  being 
given  to  the  decorative  detail  of  window  and  embrasure  that  they 
needed  no  additional  ornament  in  the  way  of  drapery.  A  bare 
floor  of  stone  or  marble  is  best  suited  to  the  dining-room;  but 
where  the  floor  is  covered,  it  should  be  with  a  rug,  not  with  a 
nailed-down  carpet. 

The  dining-room  should  be  lit  by  wax  candles  in  side  appliques 
or  in  a  chandelier;  and  since  anything  tending  to  produce  heat 
and  to  exhaust  air  is  especially  objectionable  in  a  room  used 
for  eating,  the  walls  should  be  sufficiently  light  in  color  to  make 
little  artificial  light  necessary.  In  the  dining-rooms  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, in  England  as  well  as  on  the  Continent,  the  color-scheme  was 
usually  regulated  by  this  principle:  the  dark  dining-room  panelled 
with  mahogany  or  hung  with  sombre  leather  is  an  invention  of 
our  own  times.  It  has  already  been  said  that  the  old  family  dining- 
room  was  merely  a  panelled  parlor.  Sometimes  the  panels  were 
of  light  unvarnished  oak,  but  oftener  they  were  painted  in  white 
or  in  some  pale  tint  easily  lit  by  wax  candles.  The  walls  were 
oiften  hung  with  fruit  or  flower-pieces,  or  with  pictures  offish  and 
game:  a  somewhat  obvious  form  of  adornment  which  it  has  long 
been  the  fashion  to  ridicule,  but  which  was  not  without  decora- 
tive value  and  appropriateness.  Pictures  representing  life  and  ac- 
tion often  grow  tiresome  when  looked  at  over  and  over  again, 
day  after  day:  a  fact  which  the  old  decorators  probably  had  in 
mind  when  they  hung  what  the  French  call  natures  mortes  in  the 
dining-room. 

Concerning  the  state  dining-room  that  forms  a  part  of  many 
modern  houses  little  remains  to  be  said  beyond  the  descriptions 
already  given  of  the  various  gala  apartments.     It  is  obvious  that 


The  Dining-Room  i6i 

the  banqueting-hall  should  be  less  brilliant  than  a  ball-room  and 
less  fanciful  in  decoration  than  a  music-room :  a  severer  and  more 
restful  treatment  naturally  suggests  itself,  but  beyond  this  no  spe- 
cial indications  are  required. 

The  old  dining-rooms  were  usually  heated  by  porcelain  stoves. 
Such  a  stove,  of  fine  architectural  design,  set  in  a  niche  corre- 
sponding with  that  which  contains  the  fountain,  is  of  great  deco- 
rative value  in  the  composition  of  the  room;  and  as  it  has  the 
advantage  of  giving  out  less  concentrated  heat  than  an  open  fire, 
it  is  specially  well  suited  to  a  small  or  narrow  dining-room,  where 
some  of  the  guests  must  necessarily  sit  close  to  the  hearth. 

Most  houses  which  have  banquet-halls  contain  also  a  smaller 
apartment  called  a  breakfast-room;  but  as  this  generally  corre- 
sponds in  size  and  usage  with  the  ordinary  family  dining-room, 
the  same  style  of  decoration  is  applicable  to  both.  However 
ornate  the  banquet-hall  may  be,  the  breakfast-room  must  of 
course  be  simple  and  free  from  gilding:  the  more  elaborate  the 
decorations  of  the  larger  room,  the  more  restful  such  a  contrast 
will  be  found. 

Of  the  dinner-table,  as  we  now  know  it,  little  need  be  said. 
The  ingenious  but  ugly  extension-table  with  a  central  support, 
now  used  all  over  the  world,  is  an  English  invention.  There 
seems  no  reason  why  the  general  design  should  not  be  improved 
without  interfering  with  the  mechanism  of  this  table;  but  of 
course  it  can  never  be  so  satisfactory  to  the  eye  as  one  of  the 
old  round  or  square  tables,  with  four  or  six  tapering  legs,  such 
as  were  used  in  eighteenth-century  dining-rooms  before  the 
introduction  of  the  "extension." 


XIV 
BEDROOMS 

THE  history  of  the  bedroom  has  been  incidentally  touched 
upon  in  tracing  the  development  of  the  drawing-room  from 
the  mediaeval  hall.  It  was  shown  that  early  in  the  middle  ages 
the  sleeping-chamber,  which  had  been  one  of  the  first  outgrowths 
of  the  hall,  was  divided  into  the  chambre  de  parade,  or  incipient 
drawing-room,  and  the  cbambre  au  giste,  or  actual  sleeping-room. 

The  increasing  development  of  social  life  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury brought  about  a  further  change ;  the  state  bedroom  being  set 
aside  for  entertainments  of  ceremony,  while  the  sleeping-chamber 
was  used  as  the  family  living-room  and  as  the  scene  of  suppers, 
card-parties,  and  informal  receptions  —  or  sometimes  actually  as 
the  kitchen.  Indeed,  so  varied  were  the  uses  to  which  the 
cbambre  au  giste  was  put,  that  in  France  especially  it  can  hardly 
be  said  to  have  offered  a  refuge  from  the  promiscuity  of  the  hall. 

As  a  rule,  the  bedrooms  of  the  Renaissance  and  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  were  very  richly  furnished.  The  fashion  of  raising 
the  bed  on  a  dais  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  room  by  columns 
and  a  balustrade  was  introduced  in  France  in  the  time  of  Louis 
XIV.  This  innovation  gave  rise  to  the  habit  of  dividing  the  deco- 
ration of  the  room  into  two  parts;  the  walls  being  usually  panelled 
or  painted,  while  the  "alcove,"  as  it  was  called,  was  hung  in 

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Bedrooms  163 

tapestry,  velvet,  or  some  rich  stuflF  in  keeping  with  the  heavy  cur- 
tains that  completely  enveloped  the  bedstead.  This  use  of  stuff 
hangings  about  the  bed,  so  contrary  to  our  ideas  of  bedroom 
hygiene,  was  due  to  the  difficulty  of  heating  the  large  high- 
studded  rooms  of  the  period,  and  also,  it  must  be  owned,  to  the 
prevalent  dread  of  fresh  air  as  of  something  essentially  unwhole- 
some and  pernicious. 

In  the  early  middle  ages  people  usually  slept  on  the  floor; 
though  it  would  seem  that  occasionally,  to  avoid  cold  or  damp- 
ness, the  mattress  was  laid  on  cords  stretched  upon  a  low  wooden 
framework.  In  the  fourteenth  century  the  use  of  such  frameworks 
became  more  general,  and  the  bed  was  often  enclosed  in  curtains 
hung  from  a  tester  resting  on  four  posts.  Bed-hangings  and 
coverlet  were  often  magnificently  embroidered ;  but  in  order  that 
it  might  not  be  necessary  to  transport  from  place  to  place  the  un- 
wieldy bedstead  and  tester,  these  were  made  in  the  rudest 
manner,  without  attempt  at  carving  or  adornment.  In  course 
of  time  this  primitive  framework  developed  into  the  sumptuous 
four-post  bedstead  of  the  Renaissance,  with  elaborately  carved 
cornice  and  colonnes  torses  enriched  with  gilding.  Thence- 
forward more  wealth  and  skill  were  expended  upon  the  bed- 
stead than  upon  any  other  article  of  furniture.  Gilding,  carving, 
and  inlaying  of  silver,  ivory  or  mother-of-pearl,  combined  to  adorn 
the  framework,  and  embroidery  made  the  coverlet  and  hangings 
resplendent  as  church  vestments.  This  magnificence  is  explained 
by  the  fact  that  it  was  customary  for  the  lady  of  the  house  to  lie 
in  bed  while  receiving  company.  In  many  old  prints  representing 
suppers,  card-parties,  or  afternoon  visits,  the  hostess  is  thus  seen, 
with  elaborately  dressed  head  and  stiff  brocade  gown,  while 
her  friends  are  grouped  about  the  bedside  in  equally  rich  attire. 


164  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

This  curious  custom  persisted  until  late  in  the  eighteenth  century  ; 
and  under  such  conditions  it  was  natural  that  the  old  cabinet- 
makers should  vie  with  each  other  in  producing  a  variety  of  ornate 
and  fanciful  bedsteads.  It  would  be  useless  to  enumerate  here  the 
modifications  in  design  marking  the  dififerent  periods  of  decora- 
tion :  those  who  are  interested  in  the  subject  will  find  it  treated 
in  detail  in  the  various  French  works  on  furniture. 

It  was  natural  that  while  the  bedroom  was  used  as  a  salon  it 
should  be  decorated  with  more  elaboration  than  would  otherwise 
have  been  fitting;  but  two  causes  combined  to  simplify  its  treat- 
ment in  the  eighteenth  century.  One  of  these  was  the  new  fashion 
of  petits  appartements.  With  artists  so  keenly  alive  to  proportion 
as  the  old  French  designers,  it  was  inevitable  that  such  a  change 
in  dimensions  should  bring  about  a  corresponding  change  in  deco- 
ration. The  bedrooms  of  the  eighteenth  century,  though  some- 
times elaborate  in  detail,  had  none  of  the  pompous  richness  of  the 
great  Renaissance  or  Louis  XIV  room  (see  Plate  LIV).  The  pre- 
tentious dais  with  its  screen  of  columns  was  replaced  by  a  niche 
containing  the  bed;  plain  wood-panelling  succeeded  to  tapestry 
and  embroidered  hangings;  and  the  heavy  carved  ceiling  with  its 
mythological  centre-picture  made  way  for  light  traceries  on  plaster. 

The  other  change  in  the  decoration  of  French  bedrooms  was  due 
to  the  substitution  of  linen  or  cotton  bed  and  window-hangings 
for  the  sumptuous  velvets  and  brocades  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. This  change  has  usually  been  ascribed  to  the  importation 
of  linens  and  cottons  from  the  East;  and  no  doubt  the  novelty 
of  these  gay  indiennes  stimulated  the  taste  for  simple  hangings. 
The  old  inventories,  however,  show  that,  in  addition  to  the  im- 
ported India  hangings,  plain  white  linen  curtains  with  a  colored 
border  were  much  used ;  and  it  is  probably  the  change  in  the  size 


Bedrooms  165 

of  rooms  that  first  led  to  the  adoption  of  thin  washable  hangings. 
The  curtains  and  bed-draperies  of  damask  or  brocatelle,  so  well 
suited  to  the  high-studded  rooms  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
would  have  been  out  of  place  in  the  small  apartments  of  the 
Regency.  In  studying  the  history  of  decoration,  it  will  generally 
be  found  that  the  supposed  vagaries  of  house-furnishing  were  ac- 
tually based  on  some  practical  requirement;  and  in  this  instance 
the  old  decorators  were  doubtless  guided  rather  by  common  sense 
than  by  caprice.  The  adoption  of  these  washable  materials  cer- 
tainly introduced  a  style  of  bedroom-furnishing  answering  to  all 
the  requirements  of  recent  hygiene;  for  not  only  were  windows 
and  bedsteads  hung  with  unlined  cotton  or  linen,  but  chairs  and 
sofas  were  covered  with  removable  bousscs,  or  slip-covers ;  while 
the  painted  wall-panelling  and  bare  brick  or  parquet  floors  came 
far  nearer  to  the  modern  sanitary  ideal  than  do  the  papered  walls 
and  nailed-down  carpets  still  seen  in  many  bedrooms.  This  sim- 
ple form  of  decoration  had  the  additional  charm  of  variety ;  for  it 
was  not  unusual  to  have  several  complete  sets  of  curtains  and 
slip-covers,  embroidered  to  match,  and  changed  with  the  seasons. 
The  hangings  and  covers  of  the  queen's  bedroom  at  Versailles 
were  changed  four  times  a  year. 

Although  bedrooms  are  still  "done"  in  chintz,  and  though  of 
late  especially  there  has  been  a  reaction  from  the  satin-damask 
bedroom  with  its  dust-collecting  upholstery  and  knick-knacks, 
the  modern  habit  of  lining  chintz  curtains  and  of  tufting  chairs 
has  done  away  with  the  chief  advantages  of  the  simpler  style  of 
treatment.  There  is  something  illogical  in  using  washable  stuffs 
in  such  a  way  that  they  cannot  be  washed,  especially  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  the  heavily  lined  curtains,  which  might  be  useful 
to  exclude  light  and  cold,  are  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  so  hung  by 


1 66  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

the  upholsterer  that  they  cannot  possibly  be  drawn  at  night.  Be- 
sides, the  patterns  of  modern  chintzes  have  so  little  in  common 
with  the  toiles  imprimdes  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  cen- 
turies that  they  scarcely  serve  the  same  decorative  purpose;  and 
it  is  therefore  needful  to  give  some  account  of  the  old  French  bed- 
room hangings,  as  well  as  of  the  manner  in  which  they  were 
employed. 

The  liking  for  cotonnades  showed  itself  in  France  early  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  Before  this,  cotton  materials  had  been  im- 
ported from  the  East;  but  in  the  seventeenth  century  a  manufactory 
was  established  in  France,  and  until  about  1800  cotton  and  linen 
curtains  and  furniture-coverings  remained  in  fashion.  This  taste 
was  encouraged  by  the  importation  of  the  toiles  des  Indes,  printed 
cottons  of  gay  color  and  fanciful  design,  much  sought  after  in 
France,  especially  after  the  government,  in  order  to  protect  native 
industry,  had  restricted  the  privilege  of  importing  them  to  the 
Compagnie  des  Indes.  It  was  not  until  Oberkampf  established  his 
manufactory  at  Jouy  in  1760  that  the  French  toiles  began  to  re- 
place those  of  foreign  manufacture.  Hitherto  the  cottons  made  in 
France  had  been  stamped  merely  in  outline,  the  colors  being  filled 
in  by  hand;  but  Oberkampf  invented  a  method  of  printing  in 
colors,  thereby  making  France  the  leading  market  for  such  stuffs. 

The  earliest  printed  cottons  having  been  imported  from  India 
and  China,  it  was  natural  that  the  style  of  the  Oriental  designers 
should  influence  their  European  imitators.  Europe  had,  in  fact, 
been  prompt  to  recognize  the  singular  beauty  of  Chinese  art,  and 
in  France  the  passion  for  chinoiseries,  first  aroused  by  Mazarin's 
collection  of  Oriental  objects  of  art,  continued  unabated  until  the 
general  decline  of  taste  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century.  No- 
where, perhaps,  was  the  influence  of  Chinese  art  more  beneficial 


Bedrooms  1 67 

to  European  designers  than  in  the  composition  of  stuff-patterns. 
The  fantastic  gaiety  and  variety  of  Chinese  designs,  in  which  the 
human  figure  so  largely  predominates,  gave  fresh  animation  to 
European  compositions,  while  the  absence  of  perspective  and 
modelling  preserved  that  conventionalism  so  essential  in  pattern- 
designing.  The  voluminous  acanthus-leaves,  the  fleur-de-lys, 
arabesques  and  massive  scroll-work  so  suitable  to  the  Genoese 
velvets  and  Lyons  silks  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries, 
would  have  been  far  too  magnificent  for  the  cotton  stuffs  that 
were  beginning  to  replace  those  splendid  tissues.  On  a  thin  ma- 
terial a  heavy  architectural  pattern  was  obviously  inappropriate; 
besides,  it  would  have  been  out  of  scale  with  the  smaller  rooms 
and  lighter  style  of  decoration  then  coming  into  fashion. 

The  French  designer,  while  influenced  by  Chinese  compositions, 
was  too  artistic  to  be  satisfied  with  literal  reproductions  of  his  Ori- 
ental models.  Absorbing  the  spirit  of  the  Chinese  designs,  he  either 
blent  mandarins  and  pagodas  with  Italian  grottoes,  French  land- 
scapes, and  classical  masks  and  trophies,  in  one  of  those  delight- 
ful inventions  which  are  the  fairy-tales  of  decorative  art,  or  applied 
the  principles  of  Oriental  design  to  purely  European  subjects. 
In  comparing  the  printed  cottons  of  the  seventeenth  and  eigh- 
teenth centuries  with  modern  chintzes,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  lat- 
ter are  either  covered  with  monotonous  repetitions  of  a  geometri- 
cal figure,  or  with  realistic  reproductions  of  some  natural  object. 
Many  wall-papers  and  chintzes  of  the  present  day  represent 
loose  branches  of  flowers  scattered  on  a  plain  surface,  with  no 
more  relation  to  each  other  or  to  their  background  than  so  many 
real  flowers  fixed  at  random  against  the  wall.  This  literal  render- 
ing of  natural  objects  with  deceptive  accuracy,  always  condemned 
by  the  best  artists,  is  especially  inappropriate  when  brought  in 


i68  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

close  contact  with  the  highly  conventionalized  forms  of  architec- 
tural composition.  In  this  respect,  the  endlessly  repeated  geo- 
metrical figure  is  obviously  less  objectionable;  yet  the  geometri- 
cal design,  as  produced  to-day,  has  one  defect  in  common  with 
the  other  —  that  is,  lack  of  imagination.  Modern  draughtsmen, 
in  eliminating  from  their  work  that  fanciful  element  (always 
strictly  subordinated  to  some  general  scheme  of  composition) 
which  marked  the  designs  of  the  last  two  centuries,  have  de- 
prived themselves  of  the  individuality  and  freshness  that  might 
have  saved  their  patterns  from  monotony. 

This  rejection  of  the  fanciful  in  composition  is  probably  due 
to  the  excessive  use  of  pattern  in  modern  decoration.  Where 
much  pattern  is  used,  it  must  be  as  monotonous  as  possible, 
or  it  will  become  unbearable.  The  old  decorators  used  few 
lines,  and  permitted  themselves  more  freedom  in  design  ;  or 
rather  they  remembered,  what  is  now  too  often  forgotten,  that 
in  the  decoration  of  a  room  furniture  and  objects  of  art  help  to 
make  design,  and  in  consequence  they  were  chiefly  concerned 
with  providing  plain  spaces  of  background  to  throw  into  relief 
the  contents  of  the  room.  Of  late  there  has  been  so  marked  a  re- 
turn to  plain  panelled  or  painted  walls  that  the  pattern-designer 
will  soon  be  encouraged  to  give  freer  rein  to  his  fancy.  In  a 
room  where  walls  and  floor  are  of  uniform  tint,  there  is  no 
reason  why  the  design  of  curtains  and  chair-coverings  should 
consist  of  long  straight  rows  of  buttercups  or  crocuses,  endlessly 
repeated. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  the  old  designs  were  unconven- 
tional. Nature,  in  passing  through  the  medium  of  the  imagina- 
tion, is  necessarily  transposed  and  in  a  manner  conventionalized; 
and  it  is  this  transposition,  this  deliberate  selection   of  certain 


PLATE  LV. 


BATH-ROOM,  PITTI  PALACE,  FLORENCE. 

LATE    XVIU    CENTURY.       DECORATED   BY   CACIALLI. 


Bedrooms  1 69 

characteristics  to  the  exclusion  of  others,  that  distinguishes  the 
worlc  of  art  from  a  cast  or  a  photograph.  But  the  reduction  of 
natural  objects  to  geometrical  forms  is  only  one  of  the  results 
of  artistic  selection.  The  Italian  fresco-painters  —  the  recognized 
masters  of  wall-decoration  in  the  flat  —  always  used  the  natu- 
ralistic method,  but  subject  to  certain  restrictions  in  composition 
or  color.  This  applies  also  to  the  Chinese  designers,  and  to  the 
humbler  European  pattern-makers  who  on  more  modest  lines 
followed  the  same  sound  artistic  traditions.  In  studying  the 
toiles  peintes  manufactured  in  Europe  previous  to  the  present 
century,  it  will  be  seen  that  where  the  design  included  th« 
human  figure  or  landscape  naturalistically  treated  (as  in  the 
fables  of  y^sop  and  La  Fontaine,  or  the  history  of  Don  Quixote), 
the  pattern  was  either  printed  entirely  in  one  color,  or  so  fantas- 
tically colored  that  by  no  possibility  could  it  pass  for  an  attempt 
at  a  literal  rendering  of  nature.  Besides,  in  all  such  compositions 
(and  here  the  Chinese  influence  is  seen)  perspective  was  stu- 
diously avoided,  and  the  little  superimposed  groups  or  scenes 
were  either  connected  by  some  decorative  arabesque,  or  so 
designed  that  by  their  outline  they  formed  a  recurring  pattern. 
On  the  other  hand,  when  the  design  was  obviously  conventional 
a  variety  of  colors  was  freely  used.  The  introduction  of  the 
human  figure,  animals,  architecture  and  landscape  into  stuff-pat- 
terns undoubtedly  gave  to  the  old  designs  an  animation  lacking 
in  those  of  the  present  day ;  and  a  return  to  the  pays  bleu  of  the 
Chinese  artist  would  be  a  gain  to  modern  decoration. 

Of  the  various  ways  in  which  a  bedroom  may  be  planned,  none 
is  so  luxurious  and  practical  as  the  French  method  of  subdividing 
it  into  a  suite  composed  of  two  or  more  small  rooms.  Where 
space  is  not  restricted  there  should  in  fact  be  four  rooms,  preceded 


lyo  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

by  an  antechamber  separating  the  suite  from  the  main  corridor  of 
the  house.  The  small  sitting-room  or  boudoir  opens  into  this  an- 
techamber; and  next  comes  the  bedroom,  beyond  which  are  the 
dressing  and  bath  rooms.  In  French  suites  of  this  kind  there  are 
usually  but  two  m6ans  of  entrance  from  the  main  corridor:  one 
for  the  use  of  the  occupant,  leading  into  the  antechamber,  the 
other  opening  into  the  bath-room,  to  give  access  to  the  servants. 
This  arrangement,  besides  giving  greater  privacy,  preserves  much 
valuable  wall-space,  which  would  be  sacrificed  in  America  to  the 
supposed  necessity  of  making  every  room  in  a  house  open  upon 
one  of  the  main  passageways. 

The  plan  of  the  bedroom  suite  can  of  course  be  carried  out  only 
in  large  houses;  but  even  where  there  is  no  lack  of  space,  such  an 
arrangement  is  seldom  adopted  by  American  architects,  and  most 
of  the  more  important  houses  recently  built  contain  immense  bed- 
rooms, instead  of  a  series  of  suites.  To  enumerate  the  practical 
advantages  of  the  suite  over  the  single  large  room  hardly  comes 
within  the  scope  of  this  book ;  but  as  the  uses  to  which  a  bed- 
room is  put  fall  into  certain  natural  subdivisions,  it  will  be  more 
convenient  to  consider  it  as  a  suite. 

Since  bedrooms  are  no  longer  used  as  salons,  there  is  no  reasoa 
for  decorating  them  in  an  elaborate  manner;  and,  however  mag- 
Tiificent  the  other  apartments,  it  is  evident  that  in  this  part  of  the 
house  simplicity  is  most  fitting.  Now  that  people  have  been  taught 
the  unhealthiness  of  sleeping  in  a  room  with  stuff  hangings,  heavy 
window-draperies  and  tufted  furniture,  the  old  fashion  of  painted 
walls  and  bare  floors  naturally  commends  itself;  and  as  the  bed- 
room suite  is  but  the  subdivision  of  one  large  room,  it  is  obviously 
better  that  the  same  style  of  decoration  should  be  used  throughout. 

For  this  reason,  plain  panelled  walls  and  chintz  or  cotton  hang- 


Bedrooms  171 

ings  are  more  appropriate  to  the  boudoir  than  silk  and  gilding. 
If  the  walls  are  without  pattern,  a  figured  chintz  may  be  chosen 
for  curtains  and  furniture  ;  while  those  who  prefer  plain  tints 
should  use  unbleached  cotton,  trimmed  with  bands  of  color,  or 
some  colored  linen  with  applications  of  gimp  or  embroidery.  It 
is  a  good  plan  to  cover  all  the  chairs  and  sofas  in  the  bedroom 
suite  with  slips  matching  the  window-curtains;  but  where  this  is 
done,  the  furniture  should,  if  possible,  be  designed  for  the  pur- 
pose, since  the  lines  of  modern  upholstered  chairs  are  not  suited 
to  slips.  The  habit  of  designing  furniture  for  slip-covers  origi- 
nated in  the  middle  ages.  At  a  time  when  the  necessity  of  trans- 
porting furniture  was  added  to  the  other  difficulties  of  travel,  it 
was  usual  to  have  common  carpenter-built  benches  and  tables, 
that  might  be  left  behind  without  risk,  and  to  cover  these  with 
richly  embroidered  slips.  The  custom  persisted  long  after  fur- 
niture had  ceased  to  be  a  part  of  luggage,  and  the  benches  and 
tabourets  now  seen  in  many  European  palaces  are  covered  merely 
with  embroidered  slips.  Even  when  a  set  of  furniture  was  up- 
holstered with  silk,  it  was  usual,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  to 
provide  embroidered  cotton  covers  for  use  in  summer,  while  cur- 
tains of  the  same  stuff  were  substituted  for  the  heavier  hangings 
used  in  winter.  Old  inventories  frequently  mention  these  ten- 
tures  diti,  which  are  well  adapted  to  our  hot  summer  climate. 

The  boudoir  should  contain  a  writing-table,  a  lounge  or  ///  de 
repos,  and  one  or  two  comfortable  arm-chairs,  while  in  a  bedroom 
forming  part  of  a  suite  only  the  bedstead  and  its  accessories 
should  be  placed. 

The  pieces  of  furniture  needed  in  a  well-appointed  dressing- 
room  are  the  toilet-table,  wash-stand,  clothes-press  and  cheval- 
glass,  with  the  addition,  if  space  permits,  of  one  or  two  commodes 


1/2  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

or  chiffonniers.  The  designing  of  modern  furniture  of  this  kind  is 
seldom  satisfactory;  yet  many  who  are  careful  to  choose  simple, 
substantial  pieces  for  the  other  rooms  of  the  house,  submit  to 
the  pretentious  "bedroom  suit"  of  bird's-eye  maple  or  mahogany, 
with  its  wearisome  irrelevance  of  line  and  its  excess  of  cheap 
ornament.  Any  study  of  old  bedroom  furniture  will  make  clear 
the  inferiority  of  the  modern  manufacturer's  designs.  Nowhere 
is  the  old  sense  of  proportion  and  fitness  seen  to  better  advantage 
than  in  the  simple,  admirably  composed  commodes  and  clothes- 
presses  of  the  eighteenth-century  bedroom. 

The  bath-room  walls  and  floor  should,  of  course,  be  water-proof. 
In  the  average  bath-room,  a  tiled  floor  and  a  high  wainscoting 
of  tiles  are  now  usually  seen ;  and  the  detached  enamel  or  porce- 
lain bath  has  in  most  cases  replaced  the  built-in  metal  tub.  The 
bath-rooms  in  the  larger  houses  recently  built  are,  in  general,  lined 
with  marble;  but  though  the  use  of  this  substance  gives  oppor- 
tunity for  fine  architectural  effects,  few  modern  bath-rooms  can  in 
this  respect  be  compared  with  those  seen  in  the  great  houses  of 
Europe.  The  chief  fault  of  the  American  bath-room  is  that,  how- 
ever splendid  the  materials  used,  the  treatment  is  seldom  archi- 
tectural. A  glance  at  the  beautiful  bath-room  in  the  Pitti  Palace  at 
Florence  (see  Plate  LV)  will  show  how  much  effect  may  be  pro- 
duced in  a  small  space  by  carefully  studied  composition.  A  mere 
closet  is  here  transformed  into  a  stately  room,  by  that  regard  for 
harmony  of  parts  which  distinguishes  interior  architecture  from 
mere  decoration.  A  bath-room  lined  with  precious  marbles,  with 
bath  and  wash-stand  ranged  along  the  wall,  regardless  of  their  re- 
lation to  the  composition  of  the  whole,  is  no  better  architecturally 
than  the  tiled  bath-room  seen  in  ordinary  houses:  design,  not 
substance,  is  needed  to  make  the  one  superior  to  the  other. 


XV 
THE  SCHOOL-ROOM  AND  NURSERIES 

ONE  of  the  most  important  and  interesting  problems  in  the 
planning  and  decoration  of  a  house  is  that  which  has  to  do 
with  the  arrangement  of  the  children's  rooms. 

There  is,  of  course,  little  opportunity  for  actual  decoration  in 
school-room  or  nursery;  and  it  is  only  by  stretching  a  point  that 
a  book  dealing  merely  with  the  practical  application  of  aesthetics 
may  be  made  to  include  a  chapter  bordering  on  pedagogy.  It 
must  be  remembered,  however,  that  any  application  of  principles 
presupposes  some  acquaintance  with  the  principles  themselves; 
and  from  this  standpoint  there  is  a  certain  relevance  in  studying 
the  means  by  which  the  child's  surroundings  may  be  made  to 
develop  his  sense  of  beauty. 

The  room  where  the  child's  lessons  are  studied  is,  in  more 
senses  than  one,  that  in  which  he  receives  his  education.  His 
whole  view  of  what  he  is  set  to  learn,  and  of  the  necessity  and 
advantage  of  learning  anything  at  all,  is  tinged,  more  often  than 
people  think,  by  the  appearance  of  the  room  in  which  his  study- 
ing is  done.  The  aesthetic  sensibilities  wake  early  in  some  chil- 
dren, and  these,  if  able  to  analyze  their  emotions,  could  testify  to 
what  suffering  they  have  been  subjected  by  the  habit  of  sending 
to  school-room  and  nurseries  whatever  furniture  is  too  ugly  or 
threadbare  to  be  used  in  any  other  part  of  the  house. 

X73 


174  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

In  the  minds  of  such  children,  curious  and  lasting  associations 
are  early  established  between  the  appearance  of  certain  rooms  and 
the  daily  occupations  connected  with  them ;  and  the  -aspect  of  the 
school-room  too  often  aggravates  instead  of  mitigating  the  weari- 
ness of  lesson-learning. 

There  are,  of  course,  many  children  not  naturally  sensitive  to 
artistic  influences,  and  the  parents  of  such  children  often  think 
that  no  special  care  need  be  spent  on  their  surroundings  —  a  curi- 
ous misconception  of  the  purpose  of  all  aesthetic  training.  To 
teach  a  child  to  appreciate  any  form  of  beauty  is  to  develop  his 
intelligence,  and  thereby  to  enlarge  his  capacity  for  wholesome 
enjoyment.  It  is,  therefore,  never  idle  to  cultivate  a  child's  taste; 
and  those  who  have  no  pronounced  natural  bent  toward  the 
beautiful  in  any  form  need  more  guidance  and  encouragement 
than  the  child  born  with  a  sense  of  beauty.  The  latter  will  at 
most  be  momentarily  offended  by  the  sight  of  ugly  objects; 
while  they  may  forever  blunt  the  taste  and  narrow  the  views  of 
the  child  whose  sluggish  imagination  needs  the  constant  stimulus 
of  beautiful  surroundings. 

If  art  is  really  a  factor  in  civilization,  it  seems  obvious  that  the 
feeling  for  beauty  needs  as  careful  cultivation  as  the  other  civic 
virtues.  To  teach  a  child  to  distinguish  between  a  good  and  a 
bad  painting,  a  well  or  an  ill-modelled  statue,  need  not  hinder 
his  growth  in  other  directions,  and  will  at  least  develop  those 
habits  of  observation  and  comparison  that  are  the  base  of  all  sound 
judgments.  It  is  in  this  sense  that  the  study  of  art  is  of  service 
to  those  who  have  no  special  aptitude  for  any  of  its  forms:  its 
indirect  action  in  shaping  aesthetic  criteria  constitutes  its  chief 
value  as  an  element  of  culture. 

The  habit  of  regarding  "art"  as  a  thing  apart  from  life  is  fatal 


The  School- Room,  and  Nurseries  175 

to  the  development  of  taste.  Parents  may  conscientiously  send 
their  children  to  galleries  and  museums,  but  unless  the  child  can 
find  some  point  of  contact  between  its  own  surroundings  and  the 
contents  of  the  galleries,  the  interest  excited  by  the  pictures  and 
statues  will  be  short-lived  and  ineffectual.  Children  are  not 
reached  by  abstract  ideas,  and  a  picture  hanging  on  a  museum 
wall  is  little  better  than  an  abstraction  to  the  child's  vivid  but 
restricted  imagination.  Besides,  if  the  home  surroundings  are 
tasteless,  the  unawakened  sense  of  form  will  not  be  roused 
by  a  hurried  walk  through  a  museum.  The  child's  mind  must 
be  prepared  by  daily  lessons  in  beauty  to  understand  the  master- 
pieces  of  art.  A  child  brought  up  on  foolish  story-books  could 
hardly  be  expected  to  enjoy  The  Knight's  Tale  or  the  Morte 
d' Arthur  without  some  slight  initiation  into  the  nature  and 
meaning  of  good  literature;  and  to  pass  from  a  house  full  of 
ugly  furniture,  badly  designed  wall-papers  and  worthless  knick- 
knacks  to  a  hurried  contemplation  of  the  Venus  of  Milo  or  of 
a  model  of  the  Parthenon  is  not  likely  to  produce  the  desired 
results. 

The  daily  intercourse  with  poor  pictures,  trashy  "ornaments," 
and  badly  designed  furniture  may,  indeed,  be  fittingly  compared 
with  a  mental  diet  of  silly  and  ungrammatical  story-books.  Most 
parents  nowadays  recognize  the  harmfulness  of  such  a  regime, 
and  are  careful  to  feed  their  children  on  more  stimulating  fare. 
Skilful  compilers  have  placed  Mallory  and  Chaucer,  Cervantes 
and  Froissart,  within  reach  of  the  childish  understanding,  thus 
laying  the  foundations  for  a  lasting  appreciation  of  good  literature. 
No  greater  service  can  be  rendered  to  children  than  in  teaching 
them  to  know  the  best  and  to  want  it;  but  while  this  is  now 
generally  conceded  with  regard  to  books,  the  child's  eager  eyes 


^7^  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

are  left  to  fare  as  best  they  may  on  chromos  from  the  illustrated 
papers  and  on  carefully  hoarded  rubbish  from  the  Christmas  tree. 

The  mention  of  the  Christmas  tree  suggests  another  obstacle  to 
the  early  development  of  taste.  Many  children,  besides  being 
surrounded  by  ugly  furniture  and  bad  pictures,  are  overwhelmed 
at  Christmas,  and  on  every  other  anniversary,  by  presents  not  al- 
ways selected  with  a  view  to  the  formation  of  taste.  The  ques- 
tion of  presents  is  one  of  the  most  embarrassing  problems  in  the 
artistic  education  of  children.  As  long  as  they  are  in  the  toy  age 
no  great  harm  is  done :  it  is  when  they  are  considered  old  enough 
to  appreciate  "something  pretty  for  their  rooms"  that  the  season 
of  danger  begins.  Parents  themselves  are  often  the  worst  offen- 
ders in  this  respect,  and  the  sooner  they  begin  to  give  their  chil- 
dren presents  which,  if  not  beautiful,  are  at  least  useful,  the  sooner 
will  the  example  be  followed  by  relatives  and  friends.  The  se- 
lection of  such  presents,  while  it  might  necessitate  a  little  more 
trouble,  need  not  lead  to  greater  expense.  Good  things  do  not 
always  cost  more  than  bad.  A  good  print  may  often  be  bought 
for  the  same  price  as  a  poor  one,  and  the  money  spent  on  a  china 
"ornament,"  in  the  shape  of  a  yellow  Leghorn  hat  with  a  kitten 
climbing  out  of  it,  would  probably  purchase  a  good  reproduction 
of  one  of  the  Tanagra  statuettes,  a  plaster  cast  of  some  French  or 
Italian  bust,  or  one  of  Cantagalli's  copies  of  the  Robbia  bas-reliefs 
—  any  of  which  would  reveal  a  world  of  unsuspected  beauty  to 
many  a  child  imprisoned  in  a  circle  of  articles  de  Paris. 

The  children  of  the  rich  are  usually  the  worst  sufferers  in 
such  cases,  since  the  presents  received  by  those  whose  parents 
and  relations  are  not  "well  oflF"  have  the  saving  merit  of  useful- 
ness. It  is  the  superfluous  gimcrack — the  "ornament"  —  which 
is  most  objectionable,  and  the  more  expensive  such  articles  are 


The  School-Room  and  Nurseries  177 

the  more  likely  are  they  to  do  harm.  Rich  children  suffer  from 
the  quantity  as  well  as  the  quality  of  the  presents  they  receive. 
Appetite  is  surfeited,  curiosity  blunted,  by  the  mass  of  offerings 
poured  in  with  every  anniversary.  It  would  be  better  if,  in  such 
cases,  friends  and  family  could  unite  in  giving  to  each  child  one 
thing  worth  having  —  a  good  edition,  a  first-state  etching  or  en- 
graving, or  some  like  object  fitted  to  give  pleasure  at  the  time  and 
lasting  enjoyment  through  life.  Parents  often  make  the  mistake 
of  thinking  that  such  presents  are  too  "serious"  —  that  children 
do  not  care  for  good  bindings,  fine  engravings,  or  reproductions 
of  sculpture.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  children  are  quick  to  appreciate 
beauty  when  pointed  out  and  explained  to  them,  and  an  intelli- 
gent child  feels  peculiar  pride  in  being  the  owner  of  some  object 
which  grown-up  people  would  be  glad  to  possess.  If  the  selec- 
tion of  such  presents  is  made  with  a  reasonable  regard  for  the 
child's  tastes  and  understanding  —  if  the  book  chosen  is  a  good 
edition,  well  bound,  of  the  Morte  d' Arthur  or  of  Chaucer  —  if  the 
print  represents  some  Tuscan  Nativity,  with  a  joyous  dance  of 
angels  on  the  thatched  roof,  or  a  group  of  splendid  horsemen  and 
strange  animals  from  the  wondrous  fairy-tale  of  the  Riccardi 
chapel  —  the  present  will  give  as  much  immediate  pleasure  as  a 
"juvenile"  book  or  picture,  while  its  intrinsic  beauty  and  signifi- 
cance may  become  important  factors  in  the  child's  aesthetic  de- 
velopment. The  possession  of  something  valuable,  that  may  not 
be  knocked  about,  but  must  be  handled  with  care  and  restored  to 
its  place  after  being  looked  at,  will  also  cultivate  in  the  child  that 
habit  of  carefulness  and  order  which  may  be  defined  as  good 
manners  toward  inanimate  objects. 

Children  suffer  not  only   from  the  number  of  presents  they 
receive,  but  from  that  over-crowding  of  modern  rooms  that  so 


178  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

often  makes  it  necessary  to  use  the  school-room  and  nurseries 
as  an  outlet  for  the  overflow  of  the  house.  To  the  children's 
quarters  come  one  by  one  the  countless  objects  "  too  good  to 
throw  away"  but  too  ugly  to  be  tolerated  by  grown-up  eyes  — 
the  bead-work  cushions  that  have  "associations,"  the  mildewed 
Landseer  prints  of  foaming,  dying  animals,  the  sheep-faced  Ma- 
donna and  Apostles  in  bituminous  draperies,  commemorating  a 
paternal  visit  to  Rome  in  the  days  when  people  bought  copies  of 
the  "Old  Masters." 

Those  who  wish  to  train  their  children's  taste  must  resolutely 
clear  the  school-room  of  all  such  stumbling-blocks.  Ugly  fur- 
niture cannot  always  be  replaced;  but  it  is  at  least  possible  to 
remove  unsuitable  pictures  and  knick-knacks. 

It  is  essential  that  the  school-room  should  be  cheerful.  Dark 
colors,  besides  necessitating  the  use  of  much  artificial  light,  are 
depressing  to  children  and  consequently  out  of  place  in  the 
school-room:  white  woodwork,  and  walls  tinted  in  some  bright 
color,  form  the  best  background  for  both  work  and  play. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  way  of  decorating  the  school-room 
is  that  which  might  be  described  as  the  rotation  system.  To 
carry  out  this  plan  —  which  requires  the  coSperation  of  the  chil- 
dren's teacher — the  walls  must  be  tinted  in  some  light  color,  such 
as  turquoise-blue  or  pale  green,  and  cleared  of  all  miscellaneous 
adornments.  These  should  then  be  replaced  by  a  few  carefully- 
chosen  prints,  photographs  and  plaster  casts,  representing  objects 
connected  with  the  children's  studies.  Let  it,  for  instance,  be 
supposed  that  the  studies  in  hand  include  natural  history,  botany, 
and  the  history  of  France  and  England  during  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. These  subjects  might  be  respectively  illustrated  by  some  of 
the  clever  Japanese  outline  drawings  of  plants  and  animals,  by 


The  School-Room  and  Nurseries  179 

Holbein's  portrait  of  Henry  VIII,  Clouet's  of  Charles  IX  and  of 
Elizabeth  of  Austria,  Durer's  etchings  of  Luther  and  Erasmus,  and 
views  of  some  of  the  principal  buildings  erected  in  France  and 
England  during  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  prints  and  casts  shown  at  one  time  should  be  sufficiently 
inexpensive  and  few  in  number  to  be  changed  as  the  child's  les- 
sons proceed,  thus  forming  a  kind  of  continuous  commentary 
upon  the  various  branches  of  study. 

This  plan  of  course  necessitates  more  trouble  and  expense  than 
the  ordinary  one  of  giving  to  the  walls  of  the  school-room  a  per- 
manent decoration:  an  arrangement  which  may  also  be  made 
interesting  and  suggestive,  if  the  child's  requirements  are  con- 
sidered. When  casts  and  pictures  are  intended  to  remain  in  place, 
it  is  a  good  idea  to  choose  them  at  the  outset  with  a  view  to  the 
course  of  studies  likely  to  be  followed.  In  this  way,  each  object 
may  serve  in  turn  to  illustrate  some  phase  of  history  or  art:  even 
this  plan  will  be  found  to  have  a  vivifying  effect  upon  the  dry 
bones  of  "lessons." 

In  a  room  decorated  in  this  fashion,  the  prints  or  photographs 
selected  might  represent  the  foremost  examples  of  Greek,  Gothic, 
Renaissance  and  eighteenth-century  architecture,  together  with 
several  famous  paintings  of  different  periods  and  schools;  sculp- 
ture being  illustrated  by  casts  of  the  Disk-thrower,  of  one  of 
Robbia's  friezes  of  child-musicians,  of  Donatello's  Saint  George, 
and  Pigalle's  "Child  with  the  Bird." 

Parents  who  do  not  care  to  plan  the  adornment  of  the  school- 
room on  such  definite  lines  should  at  least  be  careful  to  choose 
appropriate  casts  and  pictures.  It  is  generally  conceded  that 
nothing  painful  should  be  put  before  a  child's  eyes;  but  the  dele- 
terious effects  of  namby-pamby  prettiness  are  too  often  disre- 


i8o  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

garded.  Anything  "sweet"  is  considered  appropriate  for  the 
school-room  or  nursery;  whereas  it  is  essential  to  the  child's 
artistic  training  that  only  the  sweetness  which  proceeds  de  forte 
should  be  held  up  for  admiration.  It  is  easy  to  find  among  the 
world's  masterpieces  many  pictures  interesting  to  children.  Van- 
dyck's  "Children  of  Charles  I";  Bronzino's  solemn  portraits  of 
Medici  babies;  Drouais'  picture  of  the  Comte  d'Artois  holding  his 
little  sister  on  the  back  of  a  goat ;  the  wan  little  princes  of  Velas- 
quez; the  ruddy  beggar-boys  of  Murillo  —  these  are  but  a  few  of 
the  subjects  that  at  once  suggest  themselves.  Then,  again,  there 
are  the  wonder-books  of  those  greatest  of  all  story-tellers,  the 
Italian  fresco-painters  —  Benozzo  Gozzoli,  Pinturicchio,  Carpaccio 
—  incorrigible  gossips  every  one,  lingering  over  the  minor  epi- 
sodes and  trivial  details  of  their  stories  with  the  desultory  slow- 
ness dear  to  childish  listeners.  In  sculpture,  the  range  of  choice  is 
no  less  extended.  The  choristers  of  Robbia,  the  lean  little  St. 
Johns  of  Donatello  and  his  school  —  Verrocchio's  fierce  young 
David,  and  the  Capitol  "Boy  with  the  Goose"  —  these  may  alter- 
nate with  fragments  of  the  Parthenon  frieze,  busts  of  great  men, 
and  studies  of  animals,  from  the  Assyrian  lions  to  those  of  Canova 
and  Barye. 

Above  all,  the  walls  should  not  be  overcrowded.  The  impor- 
tance of  preserving  in  the  school-room  bare  wall-spaces  of  uniform 
tint  has  hitherto  been  little  considered ;  but  teachers  are  beginning 
to  understand  the  value  of  these  spaces  in  communicating  to  the 
child's  brain  a  sense  of  repose  which  diminishes  mental  and  physi- 
cal restlessness. 

The  furniture  of  the  school-room  should  of  course  be  plain  and 
substantial.  Well-designed  furniture  of  this  kind  is  seldom  made 
by  modern  manufacturers,  and  those  who  can  afford  the  slight 


The  School- Room  and  Nurseries  i8i 

extra  expense  should  commission  a  good  cabinet-maker  to  repro- 
duce some  of  the  simple  models  which  may  be  found  in  the 
manuals  of  old  French  and  English  designers.  It  is  of  special  im- 
portance to  provide  a  large,  solid  writing-table:  children  are  too 
often  subjected  to  the  needless  constraint  and  fatigue  of  writing  at 
narrow  unsteady  desks,  too  small  to  hold  even  the  books  in  use 
during  the  lesson. 

A  well-designed  bookcase  with  glass  doors  is  a  valuable  factor 
in  the  training  of  children.  It  teaches  a  respect  for  books  by  show- 
ing that  they  are  thought  worthy  of  care;  and  a  child  is  less  likely 
to  knock  about  and  damage  a  book  which  must  be  taken  from 
and  restored  to  such  a  bookcase,  than  one  which,  after  being 
used,  is  thrust  back  on  an  open  shelf.  Children's  books,  if  they 
have  any  literary  value,  should  be  bound  in  some  bright-colored 
morocco :  dingy  backs  of  calf  or  black  cloth  are  not  likely  to  at- 
tract the  youthful  eye,  and  the  better  a  book  is  bound  the  more 
carefully  it  will  be  handled.  Even  lesson-books,  when  they  be- 
come shabby,  should  have  a  covering  of  some  bright-colored  cloth 
stitched  over  the  boards. 

The  general  rules  laid  down  for  the  decoration  of  the  school- 
room may,  with  some  obvious  modifications,  be  applied  to  the 
treatment  of  nursery  and  of  children's  rooms.  These,  like  the 
school-room,  should  have  painted  walls  and  a  floor  of  hard  wood 
with  a  removable  rug  or  a  square  of  matting.  In  a  house  contain- 
ing both  school-room  and  nursery,  the  decoration  of  the  latter 
room  will  of  course  be  adapted  to  the  tastes  of  the  younger  chil- 
dren. Mothers  often  say,  in  answer  to  suggestions  as  to  the 
decoration  of  the  nursery,  that  little  children  "like  something 
bright"— as  though  this  precluded  every  form  of  art  above  the 
newspaper  chromo  and  the  Christmas  card !     It  is  easy  to  pro- 


i82  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

duce  an  effect  of  brightness  by  means  of  white  wood-work  and 
walls  hung  with  good  colored  prints,  with  large  photographs  of 
old  Flemish  or  Italian  pictures, —say,  for  example,  Bellini's  baby- 
angels  playing  on  musical  instruments,— and  with  a  few  of  the 
Japanese  plant  and  animal  drawings  already  referred  to.  All 
these  subjects  would  interest  and  amuse  even  very  young  chil- 
dren; and  there  is  no  reason  why  a  gay  Japanese  screen,  with 
boldly  drawn  birds  and  flowers,  should  not  afford  as  much  en- 
tertainment as  one  composed  of  a  heterogeneous  collection  of 
Christmas  cards,  chromos,  and  story-book  pictures,  put  together 
without  any  attempt  at  color-harmony  or  composition. 

Children's  rooms  should  be  as  free  as  possible  from  all  super- 
fluous draperies.  The  windows  may  be  hung  with  either  shades 
or  curtains:  it  is  needless  to  have  both.  If  curtains  are  pre- 
ferred, they  should  be  of  chintz,  or  of  some  washable  cotton  or 
linen.  The  reproductions  of  the  old  toiles  de  Jouy,  with  pictures 
from  y^sop  and  La  Fontaine,  or  from  some  familiar  myth  or  story, 
are  specially  suited  to  children's  rooms ;  while  another  source  of 
interest  and  amusement  may  be  provided  by  facing  the  fireplace 
with  blue  and  white  Dutch  tiles  representing  the  finding  of  Moses, 
the  story  of  David  and  Goliath,  or  some  such  familiar  episode. 

As  children  grow  older,  and  are  allotted  separate  bedrooms, 
these  should  be  furnished  and  decorated  on  the  same  principles 
and  with  the  same  care  as  the  school-room.  Pieces  of  furniture 
for  these  bedrooms  would  make  far  more  suitable  and  interesting 
presents  than  the  costly  odds  and  ends  so  often  given  without 
definite  intention.  In  the  arrangement  of  the  child's  own  room 
the  expression  of  individual  taste  should  be  encouraged  and  the 
child  allowed  to  choose  the  pictures  and  casts  with  which  the 
walls  are  hung.     The  responsibility  of  such  selection  will  do 


The  School-Room  and  Nurseries  183 

much   to   develop   the    incipient    faculties   of   observation   and 
comparison. 

To  sum  up,  then  :  the  child's  visible  surroundings  form  the 
basis  of  the  best,  because  of  the  most  unconscious,  cultivation: 
and  not  of  sesthetic  cultivation  only,  since,  as  has  been  pointed 
out,  the  development  of  any  artistic  taste,  if  the  child's  general 
training  is  of  the  right  sort,  indirectly  broadens  the  whole  view 
of  life. 


XVI 

BRIC-A-BRAC 

IT  is  perhaps  not  uninstructive  to  note  that  we  have  no  English 
word  to  describe  the  class  of  household  ornaments  which 
French  speech  has  provided  with  at  least  three  designations,  each 
indicating  a  delicate  and  almost  imperceptible  gradation  of  quality. 
In  place  of  bric-a-brac,  bibelots,  objets  d'art,  we  have  only  knick- 
knacks— defined  by  Stormonth  as  "articles  of  small  value." 

This  definition  of  the  knick-knack  fairly  indicates  the  general 
level  of  our  artistic  competence.  It  has  already  been  said  that 
cheapness  is  not  necessarily  synonymous  with  trashiness;  but 
hitherto  this  assertion  has  been  made  with  regard  to  furniture  and 
to  the  other  necessary  appointments  of  the  house.  With  knick- 
knacks  the  case  is  different.  An  artistic  age  will  of  course  pro- 
duce any  number  of  inexpensive  trifles  fit  to  become,  like  the 
Tanagra  figurines,  the  museum  treasures  of  later  centuries ;  but  it 
is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out  that  modern  shop-windows  are 
not  overflowing  with  such  immortal  toys.  The  few  objects  of  art 
produced  in  the  present  day  are  the  work  of  distinguished  artists. 
Even  allowing  for  what  Symonds  calls  the  "  vicissitudes  of  taste," 
it  seems  improbable  that  our  commercial  knick-knack  will  ever  be 
classed  as  a  work  of  art. 

It  is  clear  that  the  weary  man  must  have  a  chair  to  sit  on,  the 

Z84 


PLATE  LI/ 1. 


BRONZE  ANDIRON.     VENETIAN  SCHOOL. 

XVI  CENTURY. 


Bric-a-Brac  185 

hungry  man  a  table  to  dine  at;  nor  would  the  most  sensitive 
judgment  condemn  him  for  buying  ugly  ones,  were  no  others  to 
be  had ;  but  objects  of  art  are  a  counsel  of  perfection.  It  is  quite 
possible  to  go  without  them ;  and  the  proof  is  that  many  do  go 
without  them  who  honestly  think  to  possess  them  in  abundance. 
This  is  said,  not  with  any  intention  of  turning  to  ridicule  the 
natural  desire  to  "  make  a  room  look  pretty,"  but  merely  with  the 
purpose  of  inquiring  whether  such  an  object  is  ever  furthered  by 
the  indiscriminate  amassing  of  "ornaments."  Decorators  know 
how  much  the  simplicity  and  dignity  of  a  good  room  are  dimin- 
ished by  crowding  it  with  useless  trifles.  Their  absence  improves 
even  bad  rooms,  or  makes  them  at  least  less  multitudinously  bad. 
It  is  surprising  to  note  how  the  removal  of  an  accumulation  of 
knick-knacks  will  free  the  architectural  lines  and  restore  the  fur- 
niture to  its  rightful  relation  with  the  walls. 

Though  a  room  must  depend  for  its  main  beauty  on  design 
and  furniture,  it  is  obvious  that  there  are  many  details  of  lux- 
urious living  not  included  in  these  essentials.  In  what,  then, 
shall  the  ornamentation  of  rooms  consist  ?  Supposing  walls  and 
furniture  to  be  satisfactory,  how  put  the  minor  touches  that  give 
to  a  room  the  charm  of  completeness  ?  To  arrive  at  an  answer, 
one  must  first  consider  the  different  kinds  of  minor  embellish- 
ment. These  may  be  divided  into  two  classes :  the  object  of  art 
per  se,  such  as  the  bust,  the  picture,  or  the  vase  ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  those  articles,  useful  in  themselves,— lamps,  clocks, 
fire-screens,  bookbindings,  candelabra,— which  art  has  only  to 
touch  to  make  them  the  best  ornaments  any  room  can  contain. 
In  past  times  such  articles  took  the  place  of  bibelots.  Few  purely 
ornamental  objects  were  to  be  seen,  save  in  the  cabinets  of  col- 
lectors; but  when  Botticelli  decorated  the  panels  of  linen  chests, 


i86  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

and  Cellini  chiselled  book-clasps  and  drinking-cups,  there  could 
be  no  thought  of  the  vicious  distinctions  between  the  useful  and 
the  beautiful.  One  of  the  first  obligations  of  art  is  to  make  all 
useful  things  beautiful:  were  this  neglected  principle  applied  to 
the  manufacture  of  household  accessories,  the  modern  room 
would  have  no  need  of  knick-knacks. 

Before  proceeding  further,  it  is  necessary  to  know  what  consti- 
tutes an  object  of  art.  It  was  said  at  the  outset  that,  though 
cheapness  and  trashiness  are  not  always  synonymous,  they  are 
apt  to  be  so  in  the  case  of  the  modern  knick-knack.  To  buy,  and 
even  to  make,  it  may  cost  a  great  deal  of  money;  but  artistically 
it  is  cheap,  if  not  worthless;  and  too  often  its  artistic  value  is 
in  inverse  ratio  to  its  price.  The  one-dollar  china  pug  is  less 
harmful  than  an  expensive  onyx  lamp-stand  with  moulded 
bronze  mountings  dipped  in  liquid  gilding.  It  is  one  of  the  mis- 
fortunes of  the  present  time  that  the  most  preposterously  bad 
things  often  possess  the  powerful  allurement  of  being  expensive. 
One  might  think  it  an  advantage  that  they  are  not  within  every 
one's  reach ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  their  very  unattainable- 
ness  which,  by  making  them  more  desirable,  leads  to  the  produc- 
tion of  that  worst  curse  of  modern  civilization— cheap  copies  of 
costly  horrors. 

An  ornament  is  of  course  not  an  object  of  art  because  it  is  ex- 
pensive—though it  must  be  owned  that  objects  of  art  are  seldom 
cheap.  Good  workmanship,  as  distinct  from  designing,  almost 
always  commands  a  higher  price  than  bad;  and  good  artistic 
workmanship  having  become  so  rare  that  there  is  practically  no 
increase  in  the  existing  quantity  of  objects  of  art,  it  is  evident 
that  these  are  more  likely  to  grow  than  to  diminish  in  value.  Still, 
as  has  been  said,  costliness  is  no  test  of  merit  in  an  age  when 


Bric-a-Brac  "  187 

large  prices  are  paid  for  bad  things.  Perhaps  the  most  convenient 
way  of  defining  the  real  object  of  art  is  to  describe  it  as  any 
ornamental  ohje6t  which  adequately  expresses  an  artistic  con- 
ception. This  definition  at  least  clears  the  ground  of  the  mass 
of  showy  rubbish  forming  the  stock-in-trade  of  the  average 
"  antiquity  "  dealer. 

Good  objects  of  art  give  to  a  room  its  crowning  touch  of  dis- 
tinction. Their  intrinsic  beauty  is  hardly  more  valuable  than  their 
suggestion  of  a  mellower  civilization— of  days  when  rich  men 
were  patrons  of  "  the  arts  of  elegance,"  and  when  collecting  beau- 
tiful objects  was  one  of  the  obligations  of  a  noble  leisure.  The 
qualities  implied  in  the  ownership  of  such  bibelots  are  the  mark 
of  their  unattainableness.  The  man  who  wishes  to  possess  ob- 
jects of  art  must  have  not  only  the  means  to  acquire  them,  but 
the  skill  to  choose  them— a  skill  made  up  of  cultivation  and  judg- 
ment, combined  with  that  feeling  for  beauty  that  no  amount  of 
study  can  give,  but  that  study  alone  can  quicken  and  render 
profitable. 

Only  time  and  experience  can  acquaint  one  with  those  minor 
peculiarities  marking  the  successive  "manners"  of  a  master,  or 
even  with  the  technical  nuances  which  at  once  enable  the  collector 
to  affix  a  date  to  his  Sevres  or  to  his  maiolica.  Such  knowledge  is 
acquired  at  the  cost  of  great  pains  and  of  frequent  mistakes ;  but 
no  one  should  venture  to  buy  works  of  art  who  cannot  at  least 
draw  such  obvious  distinctions  as  those  between  old  and  new 
Saxe,  between  an  old  Italian  and  a  modern  French  bronze,  or  be- 
tween Chinese  peach-bloom  porcelain  of  the  Khang-hi  period 
and  the  Japanese  imitations  to  be  found  in  every  "  Oriental  em- 
porium." 

Supposing  the  amateur  to  have  acquired  this  proficiency,  he  is 


1 88  *Thc  Decoration  of  Houses 

still  apt  to  buy  too  many  things,  or  things  out  of  proportion  with 
the  rooms  for  which  they  are  intended.  The  scoflFers  at  style— 
those  who  assume  that  to  conform  to  any  known  laws  of  decora- 
tion is  to  sink  one's  individuality— often  justify  their  view  by  the 
assertion  that  it  is  ridiculous  to  be  tied  down,  in  the  choice  of 
bibelots,  to  any  given  period  or  manner— as  though  Mazarin's 
great  collection  had  comprised  only  seventeenth-century  works  of 
art,  or  the  Colonnas,  the  Gonzagas,  and  the  Malatestas  had  drawn 
all  their  treasures  from  contemporary  sources!  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  great  amateurs  of  the  past  were  never  fettered  by  such 
absurd  restrictions.  All  famous  patrons  of  art  have  encouraged 
the  talent  of  their  day ;  but  the  passion  for  collecting  antiquities  is 
at  least  as  old  as  the  Roman  Empire,  and  Graeco-Roman  sculptors 
had  to  make  archaistic  statues  to  please  the  popular  fancy,  just  as 
our  artists  paint  pre-Raphaelite  pictures  to  attract  the  disciples  of 
Ruskin  and  William  Morris.  Since  the  Roman  Empire,  there  has 
probably  been  no  period  when  a  taste  for  the  best  of  all  ages  did 
not  exist.^  Julius  11,  while  Michel  Angelo  and  Raphael  worked 
under  his  orders,  was  gathering  antiques  for  the  Belvedere  cortile; 
under  Louis  XIV,  Greek  marbles,  Roman  bronzes,  cabinets  of 
Chinese  lacquer  and  tables  of  Florentine  mosaic  were  mingled 
without  thought  of  discord  against  Lebrun's  tapestries  or  Berain's 
arabesques;  and  Marie-Antoinette's  collection  united  Oriental  por- 
celains with  goldsmiths'  work  of  the  Italian  Renaissance. 
Taste  attaches  but  two  conditions  to  the  use  of  objects  of  art: 

1  "A  little  study  would  probably  show  that  the  Ptolemaic  era  in  Egypt  was  a  re- 
naissance of  the  Thcban  age,  in  architecture  as  in  other  respects,  while  the  golden 
period  of  Augustus  in  Rome  was  largely  a  Greek  revival.  Perhaps  it  would  even  be 
discovered  that  all  ages  of  healthy  human  prosperity  are  more  or  less  revivals,  and 
have  been  marked  by  a  retrospective  tendency."  The  ArchiU^urt  oftht  Renais- 
sance in  Italy,  by  W.  J.  Anderson.     London,  Batsford,  1896. 


Bric-a-Brac  189 

that  they  shall  be  in  scale  with  the  room,  and  that  the  room  shall 
not  be  overcrowded  with  them.  There  are  two  ways  of  being  in 
scale :  there  is  the  scale  of  proportion,  and  what  might  be  called 
the  scale  of  appropriateness.  The  former  is  a  matter  of  actual 
measurement,  while  the  latter  is  regulated  solely  by  the  nicer 
standard  of  good  taste.  Even  in  the  matter  of  actual  measure- 
ment, the  niceties  of  proportion  are  not  always  clear  to  an  un- 
practised eye.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  Ludovisi  Juno  would  be 
out  of  scale  in  a  boudoir,  but  the  discrepancy,  in  diminishing, 
naturally  becomes  less  obvious.  Again,  a  vase  or  a  bust  may  not 
be  out  of  scale  with  the  wall-space  behind  it,  but  may  appear  to 
crush  the  furniture  upon  which  it  stands;  and  since  everything  a 
room  contains  should  be  regarded  as  a  factor  in  its  general  com- 
position, the  relation  of  bric-a-brac  to  furniture  is  no  less  to  be 
studied  than  the  relation  of  bric-a-brac  to  wall-spaces.  Much  of 
course  depends  upon  the  effect  intended ;  and  this  can  be  greatly 
modified  by  careful  adjustment  of  the  contents  of  the  room.  A 
ceiling  may  be  made  to  look  less  high  by  the  use  of  wide,  low 
pieces  of  furniture,  with  massive  busts  and  vases;  while  a  low- 
studded  room  may  be  heightened  by  tall,  narrow  commodes  and 
cabinets,  with  objects  of  art  upon  the  same  general  lines. 

It  is  of  no  less  importance  to  observe  the  scale  of  appropriate- 
ness. A  bronze  Pallas  Athene  or  a  cowled  mediaeval  pleureur 
would  be  obviously  out  of  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  a  boudoir; 
while  the  delicate  graces  of  old  Saxe  or  Chelsea  would  become 
futile  in  library  or  study. 

Another  kind  of  appropriateness  must  be  considered  in  the  rela- 
tion of  objects  of  art  to  each  other:  not  only  must  they  be  in  scale 
as  regards  character  and  dimensions,  but  also  —  and  this,  though 
more  important,  is   perhaps  less  often  considered  —  as  regards 


190  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

quality.  The  habit  of  mixing  good,  bad,  and  indifferent  in  furni- 
ture is  often  excused  by  necessity:  people  must  use  what  they 
have.  But  there  is  no  necessity  for  having  bad  bric-a-brac. 
Trashy  "ornaments"  do  not  make  a  room  more  comfortable;  as 
a  general  rule,  they  distinctly  diminish  its  comfort;  and  they  have 
the  further  disadvantage  of  destroying  the  effect  of  any  good  piece 
of  work.  Vulgarity  is  always  noisier  than  good  breeding,  and  it 
is  instructive  to  note  how  a  modern  commercial  bronze  will  "  talk 
down  "  a  delicate  Renaissance  statuette  or  bust,  and  a  piece  of  Deck 
or  Minton  china  efface  the  color-values  of  blue-and-white  or  the 
soft  tints  of  old  Sevres.  Even  those  who  set  down  a  preference 
for  old  furniture  as  an  affectation  will  hardly  maintain  that  new 
knick-knacks  are  as  good  as  old  bibelots;  but  only  those  who 
have  some  slight  acquaintance  with  the  subject  know  how  wide 
is  the  distance,  in  conception  and  execution,  between  the  old  ob- 
ject of  art  and  its  unworthy  successor.  Yet  the  explanation  is 
simple.  In  former  times,  as  the  greatest  painters  occupied  them- 
selves with  wall-decoration,  so  the  greatest  sculptors  and  model- 
lers produced  the  delicate  statuettes  and  the  incomparable  bronze 
mountings  for  vases  and  furniture  adorning  the  apartments  of 
their  day.  A  glance  into  the  window  of  the  average  furniture- 
shop  probably  convinces  the  most  unobservant  that  modern 
bronze  mountings  are  not  usually  designed  by  great  artists ;  and 
there  is  the  same  change  in  the  methods  of  execution.  The 
bronze  formerly  chiselled  is  now  moulded ;  the  iron  once  wrought 
is  cast;  the  patina  given  to  bronze  by  a  chemical  process  making 
it  a  part  of  the  texture  of  the  metal  is  now  simply  applied  as  a 
surface  wash ;  and  this  deterioration  in  processes  has  done  more 
than  anything  else  to  vulgarize  modern  ornament. 

It  may  be  argued  that  even  in  the  golden  age  of  art  few  could 


/ 


Bric-a-Brac  191 

have  walls  decorated  by  great  painters,  or  furniture-mountings 
modelled  by  great  sculptors ;  but  it  is  here  that  the  superiority  of 
the  old  method  is  shown.  Below  the  great  painter  and  sculptor 
came  the  trained  designer  who,  formed  in  the  same  school  as  his 
superiors,  did  not  attempt  a  poor  copy  of  their  masterpieces,  but 
did  the  same  kind  of  work  on  simpler  lines;  just  as  below  the 
skilled  artificer  stood  the  plain  artisan  whose  work  was  executed 
more  rudely,  but  by  the  same  genuine  processes.  This  explains 
the  supposed  affectation  of  those  who  "like  things  just  because 
they  are  old."  Old  bric-a-brac  and  furniture  are,  indeed,  almost 
always  worthy  of  liking,  since  they  are  made  on  good  lines  by  a 
good  process. 

Two  causes  connected  with  the  change  in  processes  have  con- 
tributed to  the  debasement  of  bibelots:  the  substitution  of 
machine  for  hand-work  has  made  possible  the  unlimited  repro- 
duction of  works  of  art;  and  the  resulting  demand  for  cheap 
knick-knacks  has  given  employment  to  a  multitude  of  untrained 
designers  having  nothing  in  common  with  the  virtuoso  of  former 
times. 

It  is  an  open  question  how  much  the  mere  possibility  of  un- 
limited reproduction  detracts  from  the  intrinsic  value  of  an  object 
of  art.  To  the  art-lover,  as  distinguished  from  the  collector, 
uniqueness  per  se  can  give  no  value  to  an  inartistic  object;  but 
the  distinction,  the  personal  quality,  of  a  beautiful  object  is  cer- 
tainly enhanced  when  it  is  known  to  be  alone  of  its  kind  —  as  in 
the  case  of  the  old  bronzes  made  d  cire  perdue.  It  must,  how- 
ever, be  noted  that  in  some  cases  —  as  in  that  of  bronze-casting  — 
the  method  which  permits  reproduction  is  distinctly  inferior  to 
that  used  when  but  one  object  is  to  be  produced. 

In  writing  on  objects  of  art,  it  is  difficult  to  escape  the  charge 


192  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

of  saying  on  one  page  that  reproductions  are  objectionable,  and 
on  the  next  that  they  are  better  than  poor  "originals."  The 
United  States  customs  laws  have  drawn  a  rough  distinction  be- 
tween an  original  work  and  its  reproductions,  defining  the  former 
as  a  work  of  art  and  the  latter  as  articles  of  commerce;  but  it 
does  not  follow  that  an  article  of  commerce  may  not  be  an  ade- 
quate representation  of  a  work  of  art.  The  technical  differences 
incidental  to  the  various  forms  of  reproduction  make  any  general 
conclusion  impossible.  In  the  case  of  bronzes,  for  instance,  it 
has  been  pointed  out  that  the  cire  perdue  process  is  supe- 
rior to  that  by  means  of  which  reproductions  may  be  made; 
nor  is  this  the  only  cause  of  inferiority  in  bronze  reproductions. 
The  nature  of  bronze-casting  makes  it  needful  that  the  final 
touches  should  be  given  to  bust  or  statue  after  it  emerges  from 
the  mould.  Upon  these  touches,  given  by  the  master's  chisel, 
the  expressiveness  and  significance  of  the  work  chiefly  depend ; 
and  multiplied  reproductions,  in  lacking  this  individual  stamp, 
must  lack  precisely  that  which  distinguishes  the  work  of  art  from 
the  commercial  article. 

Perhaps  the  safest  general  rule  is  to  say  that  the  less  the  repro- 
duction suggests  an  attempt  at  artistic  interpretation,— the  more 
literal  and  mechanical  is  its  rendering  of  the  original,— the  better 
it  fulfils  its  purpose.  Thus,  plaster-casts  of  sculpture  are  more 
satisfactory  than  bronze  or  marble  copies;  and  a  good  photograph 
of  a  painting  is  superior  to  the  average  reproduction  in  oils  or 
water-color. 

The  deterioration  in  gilding  is  one  of  the  most  striking  exam- 
ples of  the  modern  disregard  of  quality  and  execution.  In  former 
times  gilding  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  crowning  touches  of 
magnificence  in  decoration,  was  little  used  except  where  great 


Bric-a-Brac 


193 


splendor  of  effect  was  desired,  and  was  then  applied  by  means 
of  a  difficult  and  costly  process.  To-day,  after  a  period  of  reac- 
tion during  which  all  gilding  was  avoided,  it  is  again  unsparingly 
used,  under  the  mistaken  impression  that  it  is  one  of  the  chief 
characteristics  of  the  French  styles  now  once  more  in  demand. 
The  result  is  a  plague  of  liquid  gilding.  Even  in  France,  where 
good  gilding  is  still  done,  the  great  demand  for  cheap  gilt  furniture 
and  ornaments  has  led  to  the  general  use  of  the  inferior  process. 
The  prevalence  of  liquid  gilding,  and  the  application  of  gold  to 
furniture  and  decoration  not  adapted  to  such  treatment,  doubtless 
explain  the  aversion  of  many  persons  to  any  use  of  gilding  in 
decoration. 

In  former  times  the  expense  of  good  gilding  was  no  obstacle  to 
its  use,  since  it  was  employed  only  in  gala  rooms,  where  the 
whole  treatment  was  on  the  same  scale  of  costliness:  it  would 
never  have  occurred  to  the  owner  of  an  average-sized  house  to 
drench  his  walls  and  furniture  in  gilding,  since  the  excessive  use 
of  gold  in  decoration  was  held  to  be  quite  unsuited  to  Such  a 
purpose.  Nothing  more  surely  preserves  any  form  of  ornament 
from  vulgarization  than  a  general  sense  of  fitness. 

Much  of  the  beauty  and  propriety  of  old  decoration  was  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  merit  of  a  work  of  art  was  held  to  consist,  not 
in  substance,  but  in  design  and  execution.  It  was  never  thought 
that  a  badly  designed  bust  or  vase  could  be  saved  from  medioc- 
rity by  being  made  of  an  expensive  material.  Suitability  of  sub- 
stance always  enhances  a  work  of  art;  mere  costliness  never. 
The  chryselephantine  Zeus  of  Olympia  was  doubtless  admirably 
suited  to  the  splendor  of  its  surroundings;  but  in  a  different  set- 
ting it  would  have  been  as  beautiful  in  marble.  In  plastic  art 
everything  depends  on  form  and  execution,  and  the  skilful  hand- 


194  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

ling  of  a  substance  deliberately  chosen  for  its  resistance  (where 
another  might  have  been  used  with  equal  fitness)  is  rather  a  tour 
de  force  than  an  artistic  achievement. 

These  last  generalizations  are  intended  to  show,  not  only  that 
there  is  an  intrinsic  value  in  almost  all  old  bibelots,  but  also  that 
the  general  excellence  of  design  and  execution  in  past  times  has 
handed  down  to  us  many  unimportant  trifles  in  the  way  of  fur- 
niture and  household  appliances  worthy  of  being  regarded  as 
minor  objects  of  art.  In  Italy  especially,  where  every  artisan 
seems  to  have  had  the  gift  of  the  plasticatore  in  his  finger-tips, 
and  no  substance  was  thought  too  poor  to  express  a  good  de- 
sign, there  are  still  to  be  found  many  bits  of  old  workmanship  — 
clocks,  appliques,  terra-cottas,  and  carved  picture-frames  with 
touches  of  gilding — that  may  be  characterized  in  the  terms 
applied  by  the  builder  of  Buckingham  House  to  his  collection 
of  pictures:  —  "Some  good,  none  disagreeable."  Still,  no  accu- 
mulation of  such  trifles,  even  where  none  is  disagreeable,  will 
give  to  a  room  the  same  distinction  as  the  presence  of  a  few  really 
fine  works  of  art.  Any  one  who  has  the  patience  to  put  up  with 
that  look  of  bareness  so  displeasing  to  some  will  do  better  to  buy 
each  year  one  superior  piece  rather  than  a  dozen  of  middling 
quality. 

Even  the  buyer  who  need  consult  only  his  own  pleasure  must 
remember  that  his  very  freedom  from  the  ordinary  restrictions 
lays  him  open  to  temptation.  It  is  no  longer  likely  that  any  col- 
lector will  be  embarrassed  by  a  superfluity  of  treasures;  but  he 
may  put  too  many  things  into  one  room,  and  no  amount  of 
individual  merit  in  the  objects  themselves  will,  from  the  deco- 
rator's standpoint,  quite  warrant  this  mistake.  Any  work  of  art, 
regardless  of  its  intrinsic  merit,  must  justify  its  presence  in  a  room 


Bric-a-Brac  195 

by  being  more  valuable  than  the  space  it  occupies  —  more  valu- 
able, that  is,  to  the  general  scheme  of  decoration. 

Those  who  call  this  view  arbitrary  or  pedantic  should  consider, 
first,  the  importance  of  plain  surfaces  in  decoration,  and  secondly 
the  tendency  of  overcrowding  to  minimize  the  effect  of  each  sep- 
arate object,  however  striking  in  itself.  Eye  and  mind  are  limited 
in  their  receptivity  to  a  certain  number  of  simultaneous  impres- 
sions, and  the  Oriental  habit  of  displaying  only  one  or  two  objects 
of  art  at  a  time  shows  a  more  delicate  sense  of  these  limitations 
than  the  Western  passion  for  multiplying  effects. 

To  sum  up,  then,  a  room  should  depend  for  its  adornment  on 
general  harmony  of  parts,  and  on  the  artistic  quality  of  such  ne- 
cessities as  lamps,  screens,  bindings,  and  furniture.  Whoever 
goes  beyond  these  essentials  should  limit  himself  in  the  choice 
of  ornaments  to  the  "labors  of  the  master-artist's  hand." 


CONCLUSION 

IN  the  preceding  pages  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  show  that 
in  the  treatment  of  rooms  we  have  passed  from  the  golden 
age  of  architecture  to  the  gilded  age  of  decoration. 

Any  argument  in  support  of  a  special  claim  necessitates  certain 
apparent  injustices,  sets  up  certain  provisional  limitations,  and 
can  therefore  be  judged  with  fairness  only  by  those  who  make 
due  allowance  for  these  conditions.  In  the  discussion  of  aes- 
thetics such  impartiality  can  seldom  be  expected.  Not  unnatu- 
rally, people  resent  any  attempt  to  dogmatize  on  matters  so 
generally  thought  to  lie  within  the  domain  of  individual  judg- 
ment. Many  hold  that  in  questions  of  taste  GefUhl  ist  allcs ; 
while  those  who  believe  that  beyond  the  oscillations  of  fashion 
certain  fixed  laws  may  be  discerned  have  as  yet  agreed  upon 
no  formula  defining  their  belief  In  short,  our  civilization  has 
not  yet  developed  any  artistic  creed  so  generally  recognized 
that  it  may  be  invoked  on  both  sides  of  an  argument  without 
risk  of  misunderstanding. 

This  is  true  at  least  of  those  forms  of  art  that  minister  only  to 
the  aesthetic  sense.  With  architecture  and  its  allied  branches  the 
case  is  different.  Here  beauty  depends  on  fitness,  and  the  prac- 
tical requirements  of  life  are  the  ultimate  test  of  fitness. 

If,  therefore,  it  can  be  proved  that  the  old  practice  was  based 
upon  a  clearer  perception  of  these  requirements  than  is  shown  by 
modem  decorators,  it  may  be  claimed  not  unreasonably  that  the 

196 


Conclusion 


»97 


old  methods  are  better  than  the  new.  It  seems,  however,  that 
the  distinction  between  the  various  offices  of  art  is  no  longer 
clearly  recognized.  The  merit  of  house-decoration  is  now  seldom 
measured  by  the  standard  of  practical  fitness;  and  those  who 
would  set  up  such  a  standard  are  suspected  of  proclaiming  indi- 
vidual preferences  under  the  guise  of  general  principles. 

In  this  book,  an  endeavor  has  been  made  to  draw  no  conclu- 
sion unwarranted  by  the  premises;  but  whatever  may  be  thought 
of  the  soundness  of  some  of  the  deductions,  they  must  be  re- 
garded, not  as  a  criticism  of  individual  work,  but  simply  of  certain 
tendencies  in  modern  architecture.  It  must  be  remembered,  too, 
that  the  book  is  merely  a  sketch,  intended  to  indicate  the  lines 
along  which  further  study  may  profitably  advance. 

It  may  seem  inconsequent  that  an  elementary  work  should  in- 
clude much  apparently  unimportant  detail.  To  pass  in  a  single 
chapter  from  a  discussion  of  abstract  architectural  laws  to  the 
combination  of  colors  in  a  bedroom  carpet  seems  to  show  lack  of 
plan;  yet  the  transition  is  logically  justified.  In  the  composition 
of  a  whole  there  is  no  negligible  quantity :  if  the  decoration  of  a 
room  is  planned  on  certain  definite  principles,  whatever  contrib- 
utes line  or  color  becomes  a  factor  in  the  composition.  The 
relation  of  proportion  to  decoration  is  like  that  of  anatomy  to 
sculpture  :  underneath  are  the  everlasting  laws.  It  was  the  rec- 
ognition of  this  principle  that  kept  the  work  of  the  old  architect- 
decorators  (for  the  two  were  one)  free  from  the  superfluous,  free 
from  the  intemperate  accumulation  that  marks  so  many  modern 
rooms.  Where  each  detail  had  its  determinate  part,  no  superficial 
accessories  were  needed  to  make  up  a  whole :  a  great  draughts- 
man represents  with  a  few  strokes  what  lesser  artists  can  express 
only  by  a  multiplicity  of  lines. 


198  The  Decoration  of  Houses 

The  supreme  excellence  is  simplicity.  Moderation,  fitness,  rele- 
vance—  these  are  the  qualities  that  give  permanence  to  the  work 
of  the  great  architects.  Tout  ce  qui  nest  pas  ntccssaire  est  nuisi- 
ble.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  works  of  art  may  be  said  to 
endure  by  virtue  of  that  which  is  left  out  of  them,  and  it  is  this 
"tact  of  omission  "  that  characterizes  the  master-hand. 

Modern  civilization  has  been  called  a  varnished  barbarism:  a 
definition  that  might  well  be  applied  to  the  superficial  graces  of 
much  modern  decoration.  Only  a  return  to  architectural  princi- 
ples can  raise  the  decoration  of  houses  to  the  level  of  the  past. 
Vasari  said  of  the  Farnesina  palace  that  it  was  not  built,  but  really 
born  —  non  murato  ma  veramente  nato  ;  and  this  phrase  is  but  the 
expression  of  an  ever-present  sense  —  the  sense  of  interrelation  of 
parts,  of  unity  of  the  whole. 

There  is  no  absolute  perfection,  there  is  no  communicable 
ideal;  but  much  that  is  empiric,  much  that  is  confused  and 
extravagant,  will  give  way  before  the  application  of  principles 
based  on  common  sense  and  regulated  by  the  laws  of  harmony 
and  proportion. 


INDEX 


Adam,  ceiling  ornaments  of,  93 
Andirons,  84 

Appliques,  in  hall  and  staircase,  1 19 
Araldi's  ceiling  in  the  convent  of  St.  Paul, 

Parma,  97 
Architrave   of    door,  see   Doorway;    of 

mantel-piece,  82 
Arm-chair,  modern,  128 
Armoires,  old  French  and  Italian,  1 17 
Ashby,  Castle,  Inigo  Jones's  stairs  in,  in 
Aviler,  d',  his  description  of  dining-room 

fountain,  158 

Ball-room,  137;  in  Italy,  138;  Louis  XIV, 

139;  lighting  of,  140;  chairs,  140 
Barry,  Madame  du,  dining-room  of,  1 56 
Bath-room,  172;  in  Pitti  Palace,  172 
Bedroom,  development  of,  162;  Renais- 
sance,  162;    Louis  XIV,    162;   XVIII- 
century,  163;  cotton  hangings  in,  164; 
suite,  plan  of,  169;  children's,  182 
Bedstead,  history  of,  163 
Belvedere,  at  Versailles,  frescoes  in,  42 
Berain,  ceiling  arabesques  of,  98 
Bergere,  origin  of,  7;  design  of,  128 
Bernini,  his  staircase  in  the  Vatican,  108 
Bindings,  decorative  value  of,  146 
Blinds,  73 

Blois,  spiral  stairs  in  court-yard  of  cha- 
teau,   109;   cabinet  of   Catherine   de' 
Medici,  123 
Blondel,  on  doors,  58;  on  fireplaces,  74 
Book-cases,  medieval,  145;  in  Catherine 
de' Medici's  cafcw/,  145;  in  France  in 


the  XVII  century,  146;  built  into  the 

wall,   147;  in  England,  149;  modem, 

148 
Books  in  the  middle  ages,   145;  in  the 

Renaissance,  146 
Bosse,    Abraham,   engravings    of   Louis 

XII i  interiors,  6()\  examples  of  state 

bedrooms,  123 
Boudoir,  130;  modem  decoration  of,  170 
Bramante,  his  use  of  the  mezzanin  floor,  5 
Breakfast-room,  160 
Bric-a-brac,  definition  of,  184;  knowledge 

of,  187;  superiority  of  old  over  new, 

190 
Burckhardt,  on  medieval  house-planning, 

107,  note 
Byfield,  C,  his  stairs  at  Hurlingham,  1 1 1 

Cabinet,  Italian  origin  of,  123;  used  in 
French  Renaissance  houses,  123;  of 
Catherine   de'  Medici,   book-cases  in, 

•45 

Campbell's  yitruvius  Britannicus,  ex- 
ample of  Palladian  manner,  4;  of  Eng- 
lish house-planning,  135 

Carpets,  in  general  color-scheme,  29 ; 
choice  of,  100;  Savonnerie,  100;  de- 
signs of,  101;  stair-carpets,  102,  118; 
hall-carpets,  1 18 

Caserta,  staircase  in  royal  palace,  io8 

Casino  del  Grotto,  near  Mantua,  frescoes 
in,  42;  ceilings  in,  98 

Casts  in  vestibule,  105;  in  hall,  118;  in 
school-room,  178 


log 


200 


Index 


Ceilings,  89;  timbered,  90;  in  France  and 
England,  91;  Elizabethan,  92;  Louis 
Xlll,  92;  Louis  XV,  92;  Louis  XVI, 
93;  Adam,  93,  96;  objections  to 
wooden,  94;  modem  treatment  of,  95; 
frescoed,  97 

Chambord,  staircase  at,  109 

C bamb re  de  parade,  123 

Chandeliers,  140,  159 

Chanteloup,  library  of,  149 

Chantilly,  stair-rail  at,  113 

Chevening,  Inigo  Jones's  stairs  at,  111 

Cheverny,  fireplace  at,  74 

Chinese  art,  influence  of,  on  stuff  patterns, 
166 

Chippendale's  designs  for  grates,  81 

"  Colonial  "  style,  the,  81 

Color,  use  of,  in  decoration,  28;  predomi- 
nance of  one  color  in  each  room,  28; 
color-schemes,  29 

Cornices,  interior,  Durand  on,  94 

Cortile,  Italian,  modern  adaptation  of,  117 

Coutant  d'lvry's  stair-rail  in  the  Palais 
Royal,  1 1 3 

Curtains,  mediaeval  and  Renaissance,  69; 
in  XVII  and  XVIII  centuries,  70;  mus- 
lin, 72 

Dado,  the,  37;  sometimes  omitted  in  lob- 
bies and  corridors,  38 

Decoration  and  furniture,  harmony  be- 
tween, 13;  individuality  in  decoration, 
17;  graduated  scheme  of,  24 

"  Den,"  furniture  of,  152;  decoration  of, 

Dining-chairs,  mediaeval,  156;  XVII  cen- 
tury, 159;  XVlll  century,  159 

Dining-room,  origin  of,  155;  in  France, 
154;  in  England,  155;  furniture  of,  156; 
French,  XVlll  century,  157;  fountains  in, 
158;  decoration  of  modern,  160;  light- 
ing of,  160;  state,  160;  heating  of,  161 

Dining-table,  mediaeval,  156;  modem, 
161 

Donowell,  J.,  his  stairs  at  West  Wy- 
combe, 1 1 1 

Doors,  48;  sliding,  origin  of,  49;  double, 
49;  mediaeval,  51;  in  palace  of  Urbino, 


52;  in  Italy,  52-54;  locks  and  hinges, 
55;  in  the  Hotels  de  Rohan,  de  Soubise, 
and  de  Toulouse,  56;  glass  doors,  57; 
treatment  in  England,  57;  mahogany, 
58;  panelling,  principles  of,  59;  veneer- 
ing, 61 ;  concealed  doors,  61 ;  entrance- 
door,  103 

Doorway,  proper  dimensions  of,  51,  60; 
treatment  of,  in  Italy,  52;  in  France, 
55;  in  England,  57 

Drawing-room,  in  modem  town  houses, 
20;  evolution  of,  in  England,  122;  in 
France,  122;  origin  of  modem,  124; 
treatment  of,  in  England  and  America, 
124;  fumiture  of,  127 

Dressing-room,  171 

Ducbesse,  130 

Durand,  J.  L.  N.,  on  originality  in  archi- 
tecture, 10;  on  interior  cornices,  94 


Easton  Neston,  use  of  panel-pictures  at, 
46 

Entrance,  treatment  of,  103;  entrance- 
door,  103 


Fenders,  85 

Fire-backs,  80 

Fire-boards,  86 

Fireplaces,   74;    mediaeval,   constmction 

of,  75;   in  Italy,  75;  in    France,  76; 

lining  of,  80;  American,  81 ;  accessories 

of,  84 
Fire-screens,  86 
Floors,  89;  of  brick  or  stone,  99;  marble 

and  mosaic,  in  Italy,  99;  parquet,  99; 

of  vestibule,  104;  of  ball-room,  140 
Fontana,  his  staircase  in  the  royal  palace, 

Naples,  108 
Fountains  in  dining-rooms,  158 
Fresco-painting,  in  wall-decoration,  41; 

examples  of,  in  Italy  and  France,  42; 

in  ceiling-decoration,  97;  in  Italy,  97; 

in  France,  98;  in  Italian  gala  rooms, 

'39 
Furniture,  in  the  middle  ages,  7;  furniture 
and  decoration,  harmony  between,  25; 


Index 


20 1 


modem  English  and  American,  26; 
XVIII  century,  in  France  and  England, 
27;  in  vestibule,  105;  in  hall,  117;  in 
salon  de  compagnie,  125;  in  drawing- 
room,  127,  128;  English,  XVIII  century, 
129;  in  dining-room,  156;  in  bedroom, 
171;  in  school-room,  180 

Gabriel,  influence  of,  on  ornamental  de- 
tail, 56;  on  ceilings,  93;  on  stair-rails, 
114 

Gala  rooms,  134;  uses  of,  135;  in  Italy, 
n6 

Gallery,  137 

Genoa,  royal  palace,  doors  in,  54 

Gibbons,  Grinling,  carvings  for  panel- 
pictures,  46 

Gilding,  deterioration  of,  192 

Giulio  Romano's  frescoes  in  the  Palazzo 
delT,  136 

Grand  'salle,  mediaeval,  1 10 

Grates,  81 

Gwilt,  his  definition  of  staircase,  106 

Hall,  106;  old  English,  no;  uses  of,  115; 
modem  treatment  of,  115;   decoration 
of,  117;   furniture,  117;   floor  of,  nS; 
lighting  of,  119;  prints  and  pictures  in, 
119 
Holkham,  over-mantels  at,  81 
Hotel  de  Rohan,  doors  in,  56 
de  Soubise,  doors  in,  56 
de  Toulouse,  doors  in,  56 
Houghton  Hall,  doors  in,  57,  note 
House,  Carlton,  stair-rail  in,  1 14 

Devonshire,  stair-rail  in,  114 
Norfolk,  stair-rail  in,  114 

Individuality  in  decoration,  1 7 
Isabella  of  Este's  apartment  at  Mantua, 
doorways  in,  52 

Jones,  Inigo,  his  introduction  of  Palladian 
manner  in  England,  4,  note;  influence 
on  ceiling-decoration,  92;  on  plan  of 
English  hall,  no;  his  stairs  at  Castle 
Ashby,  in;  at  Chevening,  1 1 1 

Juvara,  his  staircase  in  the  Palazzo  Ma- 
dama,  Turin,  108 


Lambrequin,  origin  of,  71 

Lamour,  Jean,  his  wrought-iron  work  at 
Nancy,  1 12 

Lantern  in  vestibule,  105 

Laurano,  Luciano  da,  palace  of  Urbino 
built  by,  6 

Lebrun,  door-locks  in  Galerie  d'/4polloH 
designed  by,  55 

Le  Riche,  frescoes  of,  in  Belvedere,  Ver- 
sailles, 42 

Library,  145;  in  the  university  at  Nancy, 
149;  of  Louis  XVI,  at  Versailles,  149; 
of  Chanteloup,  149;  modern^  decora- 
tion of,  150 

Lit  de  parade,  122 

Lit  de  repos,  130 

Longhi,  frescoes  of,  in  Palazzo  Sina,  Ven- 
ice, 143 

Louis  XIII,  windows,  69;  ceilings,  92 

Louis  XIV,  modem  house-furnishing  dates 
from  his  reign,  8;  style,  characteristics 
of,  14;  window-shutters,  69;  influ- 
ence on  French,  77;  mantels,  78;  ceil- 
ings, 98;  stair-rails,  n2;  ball-rooms, 
140 

Louis  XV  style,  characteristics  of,  1 3 ; 
doors,  56;  ceilings,  92;  wrought-iron 
work,  n2;  stair-rails,  n3 

Louis  XVI  style,  characteristics  of,  12; 
Gabriel's  influence  on,  56,  93;  doors, 
57;  ceilings,  93;  stair-rails,  n4 

Luciennes,  Madame  du  Barry's  dining- 
room  at,  157 


Mantegna's  ceiling,  palace  of  Mantua,  97 
Mantel-pieces,  Italian    Renaissance,    77; 

French   Renaissance,   77;    Louis  XIV, 

78;  XVIII  century,  79;  American,  82; 

facing  of,  83 
Mantua,    doorways    in  palace,    52,   54; 

Mantegna's  ceiling  in,  97  ;  cabinet  of 

Isabella  of  Este,  1 23 
Mario  dei  Fiori,  139 
Massimi     alle    Colonne,    palace    of,    in 

Rome,  6 
Mezzanin,  origin  of,  5;  treatment  of,  6 
Ministere  de  la  Marine,  Paris,  door  in,  61 


202 


Index 


Mirrors,  use  of,  in  over-mantel,  79;  paint- 
ed, in  Borghese  Palace,  Rome,  159;  in 
ball-rooms,  141 

Morelli's  staircase  in  Palazzo  Braschi, 
Rome,  108 

Morning-room,  133 

MuUions,  use  of,  66 

Music-room,  142;  at  Remiremont,  143 

Music-stand,  144 

Music-stool,  144 

Nancy,  wrought-iron  work  at,  112;  li- 
brary in  the  university,  149 
Naples,  staircase  in  royal  palace,  108 
Niches,  in  hall  and  staircase,  1 1 7 
Nursery,  181 

Oberkampf,  inventor  of  color-printing 
on  cotton,  166 

Object  of  art,  definition  of,  187;  repro- 
ductions of,  191 

Openings,  placing  and  proportion  of,  23; 
lines  of,  carried  up  to  ceiling,  37,  52, 
65,  74;  treatment  of,  in  rocaille  style,  56 

Orders,  use  of,  in  wall-decoration,  36; 
application  to  doorways  in  Italy,  53; 
in  France,  54;  in  England,  57;  in  ball- 
rooms, 139 

Originality  in  art,  9;  J.  L.  N.  Durand 
on,  10 

Over-doors,  mediaeval  treatment  of,  52; 
in  Italy,  53;  in  France,  55;  Louis 
XVi,  57 

Over-mantels,  Renaissance,  76;  use  of 
mirror  in,  79;  XVIII-century  treatment, 
79;  in  England,  81 

Palais  Royal,  stair-rail  in,  113 

Palazzo  Borghese,  Rome,  painted  mirrors 

in,  139 
Braschi,  Rome,  staircase  in,  108 
Gondi,  Florence,  stairs  in,  108 
Labia,  Venice,  frescoes  in,  136 
Madama,  Turin,  staircase  in,  108 
Massimi    alle    Colonne,    Rome, 

date  of,  6 
Piccolomini,  at  Pienza,  staircase 

in,  108,  note 


Pitti,  Florence,  bath-room  in,  1 72 
Reale,  Caserta,  staircase  in,  108 
Reale,  Naples,  staircase  in,  108 
Riccardi,  staircase  in,  108,  note 
Sina,  Venice,  frescoes  in,  143 
del  T,  Mantua,  frescoes  in,  136 
Palladian  window,  67 
Panelling,  in  Italy  and  north  of  the  Alps, 

40;  wood,  stone  and  stucco,  40,  42; 

subdivisions  of,  43 
Parma,  Araldi's  ceiling  in  convent  of  St. 

Paul,  97;  rocaille  stoves  in  museum,  121 
Pavia,  Certosa  of,  doorways  in,  52 
Perroquets,  141 

Perugia,   ceiling  in  the  Sala  del  Cam- 
bio,  97 
Perugino's  ceiling  in  the  Sala  del  Cambio, 

Perugia,  97 
Peruzzi,  Baldassare,  his  use  of  the  mez- 

zanin,  5 
Piano,  design  of,  143 
Pictures,    proper    background    for,    45; 

mode  of  hanging,  46;  in  hall,  119;  in 

dining-room,  160;  in  school-room,  180 
Picture-frames,  selection  of,  45 
Plan  of  house  in  relation  to  decoration,  23 
Plate-glass  in  windows,  67 
Pompadour,    Madame    de,    dining-room 

fountain  of,  158 
Pompeii,  wall-frescoes  of,  41 
Portiere,  use  of,  59 
Presses,  old  English,  1 1 7 
Prints  in  hall,  120;  in  school-room,  180 
Privacy,  modem  indifference  to,  22 
Proportion,  definition  of,  31;  Isaac  Ware 

on,  32 
Pyne's  Royal  Residences,   examples  of 

pictures  set  in  panels,  46 


Rambouillet,  Madame  de,  her  influence 

on  house-planning,  8 
Raphael,  ceilings  of,  97 
Remiremont,  music-room  at,  143 
Renaissance,  characteristics  of  domestic 
architecture,   4;   doors,    52;   window- 
curtains,  69  ;  mantels,  76,  77;  ceilings, 
90-92;  French  architects  of,  109 


Index 


203 


Rennes,  Palais  de  Justice,  carved  wooden 
ceilings,  89 

Rugs,  Oriental,  29,  100;  modem  Euro- 
pean, 101 


SaloH  a  Vltalienne,  see  Saloon 

Salon  de  compagnie,  origin  and  use  of, 
123,  125;  decoration  and  furniture  of, 
12;;  lighting  of,  126 

Salon  dtfamille,  origin  and  use  of,  123 

Saloon,  adaptation  of,  in  England  by 
Inigo  Jones,  in;  introduction  in 
France,  123;  uses  in  Italy,  136;  at  Vaux- 
le-Vicomte,  137 

School-room,  172;  decoration  of,  178 

Screen  in  Tudor  halls,  1 10 

Shobden  Court,  stairs  in,  \\\ 

Shutters,  interior  decoration  of,  69;  at 
Vaux-le-Vicomte,  6^\  in  rooms  of 
Mesdames  de  France,  Versailles,  69; 
purpose  of,  72 

Sideboard,  mediaeval,  156;  in  France,  157 

Smoking-room,  151 

Stairs,  106;  development  of,  in  Italy,  107; 
in  the  Palladian  period,  108;  in  the 
XVII  and  XV III  centuries,  108;  spiral, 
109;  in  hall,  in  England,  111;  con- 
struction of,  in  Italy,  112;  in  France, 
1 12 

Stair-carpets,  1 18 

Staircase,  meaning  of  term,  106;  walls 
of,  117;  in  simple  houses,  1 19;  lighting 
of,  119 

Stair-rails,  in  Italy  and  France,  112;  Louis 
XIV  and  XV,  113;  Louis  XVI  and  Em- 
pire, 1 13;  Tudor  and  Elizabethan,  114; 
Palladian,  in  England,  114 

Stoves,  use  of,  in  hall,  120;  examples  of 
old  stoves,  121;  in  dining-room,  161 

Stucco,  use  of,  in  decoration,  40;  pan- 
elling, in  Italy,  40;  in  ceilings,  90;  in 
Elizabethan  ceilings,  92;  combined 
with  painting,  97 

Stuff  hangings,  44 

Stupinigi,  frescoes  at,  42;  over-mantels 
at,  80 

Styles,  essence  of,  11;  conformity  to,  13 


Symmetry,  definition  of,  33;  advantages 
of,  M 

Tapestry,  use  of,  in  northern  Europe,  39; 

its  subordination  to  architectural  lines 

of  room,  39 
Tiepolo,   frescoes  of,   in  the  Villa  Val- 

marana,  42;  in  the  Palazzo  Labia,  136 
Titian's  "  Presentation  of  the  Virgin," 

doorway  in,  53 
Toiles  dejouy,  166 
Trianon-sous-Bois,  fountains  in  banquet- 

ing-gallery,  158 

Udine,  Giovanni  da,  ceilings  of,  in  col- 
laboration with  Raphael,  97 
•Urbino,  ducal  palace  of,  6;  doors  in,  52; 
fireplace  in,  74;  cabinet  of  Isabella  of 
Este,  123 

Vanvitelli's  staircase  at  Caserta,  108 
Vatican,  Bernini's  staircase  in,  108 
Vault,  the  Roman,  influence  of,  on  ceil- 
ings, 191 
Vaux-le-Vicomte,  interior  shutters  at,  69; 

saloon  at,  137 
Versailles,  frescoes  in  Belvedere,  42;  win- 
dows in  rooms  of  Mesdames  de  France, 
(^•,   shutters  in   same,  69;   library   of 
Louis  XVI,  148 
Vestibule,  104;  furniture  of,  105;  lighting 
of,  105;  absence  of,  in  English  house- 
planning,  1 10 
Villa,  Italian,  chief  features  of,  4,  note 
Villa  Giacomelli,  at  Maser,  over-mantel 
in,  76 
Madama,  in  Rome,  ceiling  of  log- 
gia, 91 
Rotonda,  near  Vicenza,  saloon  in,, 

136 
Valmarana,  near  Vicenza,  fi-escoes 

in,  42 
Vertemati,  near  Chiavenna,  over- 
mantel in,  76;   carved  wooden 
ceiling  in,  89 
Viollet-le-Duc,  on   doorways,  52,  note; 

on  mediaeval  house-planning,  109 
Vogue,  Hotel,  at  Dijon,  7 


204 


Index 


Wall-decoration,  38 

Wall-papers,  44 

Walls,  31 

Ware,  Isaac,  on  proportion,  3a;  on  slid- 
ing doors,  49;  his  definition  of  stair- 
case, 106 


Windows,  decorative  value  of,  64;  di- 
mensions of,  65;  plate-glass  in,  67; 
French  or  casement,  68;  sash,  68; 
curtains,  69,  70;  shutters, -69,  72;  lam- 
brequin, 71  ;  muslin  curtains,  72;  blinds, 
73 


West  Wycombe,  Donowell's  stairs  at,  in    Wood-box,  86 


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